Typical Romance
by WhiteEnsigma
Summary: Falling in love is easy when you find the right person, but love isn't easy when your mother adores a girl and you adore another, which got more complicated when that other girl is actually not a girl. TeFu. Cross-dressing. AU. BL.
1. Chapter 1

TYPICAL ROMANCE – CHAPTER 1

Tezuka Kunimitsu's office located on the top floor of the Tez Co. Industry, one of the most successful businesses in the country, building.

A few hours of the day, one would find Tezuka behind his large wooden desk, made from high quality red woods, looking through reports diligently. Like all CEOs, he had his own dubbed most-qualified secretary by the name of Ryuzaki Sakuno, a young lady whose charismatic personality and beauty were a charm in their company that attracted all men working in the same company. Except, her boss wasn't part of all those men.

In fact, it wasn't a secret that Tezuka was born with no innate romance at all. He had never dated or eye-candied anyone before, and the only love he possessed was the love for his family. Though no one could argue that he had a wonderful loving family composed of his parents Kunihiro and Ayane, an older sister named Yushi, and a younger brother named Ryoma.

All who liked him were envious of his fortune and background and all who hated him were jealous of his success and wealth. He had many enemies, but none fazed him.

Back in his office, which had walls made from durable, non-reflective glass on all four sides that gave the room larger illusion than it was. It was adorned with a set of sofas and coffee table on the left side of the room and on the right side was where his neat desk located. The long rectangular window in the back of the room, which was on his right hand side, showed a scenic view of the metropolitan city below.

Tezuka was reading the report when a flash outside detangled his thought and his gaze diverted to the window. It was raining outside with a few loud thundering sound and lightning now and then, indicating an upcoming rain storm that night. He looked at the clock on the other side of the room.

"5:30." Tezuka murmured and picked up his pen to resume his work once again, but before he could do so, his door opened.

"Nii-san." Tezuka's younger brother, Ryoma, who was 5 years younger than him went in and shut the door.

"Have you finished with all of your school work?" Tezuka asked as he watched Ryoma took the seat on the chair in front of him.

Ryoma was still in college, pursuing his career in business, just like Tezuka before, but the big difference between them was that Ryoma hated school. He nodded uncaringly and rested his back against the back rest. "Are you almost done?"

"No." Tezuka shifted his glasses and looked out the window again. "There's still a lot to be done. I might need to stay until 8, at least. Go home first."

"But mother called and told us to go home early 'cause we're having guests over."

Tezuka looked at his brother questionably. "Who?" He hadn't heard his parents say anything about them having guests over.

Ryoma shrugged. "She didn't say." He didn't really care.

Tezuka nodded. "Anyways, go home first and I'll see if I can get off early. I'll call Oishi to take you hom."

Ryoma blinked and nodded aloofly. "Alright. I'll see you back home later then."

Tezuka grunted, watching his brother leaving the room.

The next time when Tezuka looked at the clock, it was almost 9. The work took him longer than he expected. He started to arrange his desk and gathered his suitcase before tugging on his coat. He turned off the light and left the room.

The desk of his secretary was dark, as she had gone home at 8.

He continued to walk to the elevator and push the button to the ground floor. When it opened the security greeted him and he left through the double door that led to the car garage with a nod to him and the other workers who were still loitering around.

It was windy and cold. There weren't many cars left.

A security office patrolling around in his little company cart drove up to him. "Good evening, Mr. President."

Tezuka smiled and nodded in recognition. "Good evening Momoshiro-kun."

"Wow, you're getting off late today. Tough day?"

Tezuka shook his head. "It was bearable."

"Ah of course. Nothing is difficult for you. Anyways, you should head home. Your family must be worried."

"Ah, yes. You too." Tezuka reached into his pocket and pulled out the key to unlock his car, entering it.

"Drive safely!" Momoshiro yelled out and drove away.

Tezuka liked the liveliness of his employees. They made his business life more enjoyable and easier.

He steered his car out of the garage into the heavy rain. The traffic wasn't heavy, but the sidewalk was crowded with pedestrians and their umbrellas.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Fuji Syusuke hated the rain because by the time he got home, he would be drenched from head to toes. Umbrellas didn't help a bit especially when it was windy.

He was both a student and a worker at a bakery. Because of his big family consisting of his healthy parents, 1 older brother and sister, and 4 younger brothers, they couldn't afford to be all in school. His older siblings Kuranosuke and Yumiko had decent paying jobs and families of their own. His parents own a stall in the market and sold fish for a living.

He lived with his parents and younger siblings in a small house. Weird enough, each of them were 2 years apart. Starting from Fuji (26) down, there were Kojirou (24), Eiji (22), Yuuta (20), and then Akaya (18), the youngest.

Kojirou, Eiji, and Yuuta went to college full-time. When they were free, they helped with their family fish stand in the market. Kuranosuke and Yumiko's income combined to send the three to college and Akaya to high school.

Fuji wanted to help out his family more so he decided to work and go to college part-time.

It was about 9:30 when he arrived home.

"Syusuke! Welcome home."

"Hello mom! How was business today?" Fuji asked as he took off his wet shoes and placed them on the shoe rack on the front porch by the door.

Yoshiko, his mom, smiled warmly. "We managed to sell a lot before the rain came. What about you?"

They both walked to their living room where the low dining table was served with food. "We didn't have as much customer as yesterday."

Only Akaya was sitting on the ground at the table. He smiled when he saw Fuji. "Syusuke nii-san! You're home."

Fuji nodded and came over to ruffle the youngest one's head. "Yes I am. How was school?"

Akiya beamed. "My teacher let us out early because there was a blackout!"

Fuji chuckled. His brother was like a little kid. "That's cool. I never had a blackout at school before." He said while walking to his room to get his clothes for a warm shower.

"Akaya, why don't you go call your dad and other brothers for dinner?"

"Hai, kaa-san!" The young boy jumped up on his feet and left the living room to carry out his task his mom just gave him.

Within 10 minutes, the Fuji family all sat at the table enjoying their warm dinner.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tezuka got home 30 minutes after, only getting a little wet when he got out of his car to enter his house.

"Ah, Kunimitsu." His sister Yushi greeted him as she emerged from the kitchen. "The guests just went home." She added when she saw Tezuka looking at the maids as they cleaned the living room.

"Ah. I heard from Ryoma."

"I'll ask the maid to fix your dinner. Go get a warm shower."

Tezuka nodded. "I will. Where are mother and father?"

"In their room."

"Thank you." Tezuka turned and headed up the grand stair case that led to the second floor of their big home.

He stopped in front of his parents' room and knocked on their door. He twisted the door knob when he heard the invitation. "Father. Mother. I'm home."

"Kunimitsu." Ayana came over from her vanity to table to give her son a hug. "You missed our guests, but that's okay. You must be hungry."

Tezuka smiled. "Yushi nee-chan is getting my dinner ready."

From the bathroom, his father came out dressed in pajamas. "You're home. How was work?"

"A tad busy, but everything is fine."

His father nodded with a satisfied smile. "I'm sure with you there. Anyways, shower and have your dinner. It's late."

"Thank you. I'll do so. Goodnight father, mother."

"Goodnight, dear." His mother said as he closed the door.

Yep, that was his family, warm and caring.

When he reached the door of his room, his little brother stepped out from his own room. "Nii-san."

Tezuka grunted. "Sleeping yet?"

Ryoma smiled sleepily. "About to. Guess who came." He said with a little more enthusiasm than his drowsy eyes gave off.

Tezuka shrugged and opened his room, entering it. "Someone important?"

Ryoma huffed and leaned against the door frame of Tezuka's room. "Not really, but could be."

"Meaning?" Tezuka took off his coat and draped it over the chair. He walked over to his wardrobe to get his pajamas.

"Important if you decide to marry their daughter, otherwise no."

Tezuka stopped in front of Ryoma on the way to the bathroom. "Not important then."

Ryoma merely chuckled and left the room. "Like always."

The food was waiting for him on the table with Yushi sitting on one chair enjoying her glass of Chardonnay.

"Thank you, nee-san." Tezuka sat down and picked up his chopsticks.

"You're welcome. Eat up." She said with a big smile.

Tezuka nodded. "Itadikamasu."

"Do you want a glass?" Yushi offered.

"Cabernet Sauvignon, thank you."

His sister stood up and poured him a glass. "Ne, when are you getting married?"

Tezuka took a sip and set the glass down. "When I fall in love."

"How long will that be?"

Tezuka chewed slowly as he thought, and then swallowed. "I don't know, but what about you? Aren't you in your 30 already?"

"Yah! Why do you always bring up my age?"

Tezuka chuckled, earning a whack on the head from his sister's fist.

"Hey!" Tezuka exclaimed, rubbing his head.

"Eat by yourself." Yushi was about to stand up when Tezuka leaned over to catch her wrist.

"Sorry, won't bring it up again." He offered a smile.

Yushi could only laugh. "Whatever. Anyways, the Yukimura family was here along with their daughter your age. She is very beautiful and nice. You should have a go."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow and continued eating. "I'm a busy man."

"A few hours from work won't hurt the company. I'm sure you will like her. Even if you don't fall in love with her, you both can be friends. The more friends you have the better."

Tezuka nodded his head like he didn't mean it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Fuji helped his mom cleared the table so his younger brothers can return to doing their homework. The rain was still pouring heavily outside as he looked out the window on top of the sink.

"Syusuke, how much longer is your study going to take?" Yoshiko asked, handing Fuji a soapy dish to rinse.

"Only one more season, mom, and then I can get a better paying job."

"You should study more while you can. I believe you can accomplish more than just being an accountant."

Fuji smiled. "Maybe after Akaya graduated from college."

Yoshiko sighed. "I'm sorry you have to work while going to school."

Seeing the guilt from his mom, he quickly said with assuring words. "I want to, mom. Don't blame yourself. I will try my best to get us a better house and you and dad won't have to work anymore."

Yoshiko smiled and patted her son's wet hand with her soapy one. "Thank you, Syusuke."

At night in the room Fuji shared with Akaya, the _plot _sound of water from the leaking roof falling into the water bucket kept him awake.

He was glad that he got a caring family and he couldn't ask for more.

The next morning, he woke up to send Akaya to school. Even though Akaya was already in high school, Fuji didn't want his little brother walking alone to school in the rain. But of course, there was another reason behind that.

"Nii-san." Akaya poked his brother on his arm.

"What is it, Akaya?" Fuji regarded him with a soft smile. His hand was cold from holding the umbrella over both of their heads.

"Can you bring home some cake today? I haven't had some in a long time."

Fuji nodded. "I will, but only if you do well in school."

"I do!" Akaya protested with a pout.

Fuji laughed. "I know, that's why I will bring home some cake for you tonight, alright?"

Akaya nodded enthusiastically. He ran into his school when they got to the gate, holding his hands over his head to shield his head from the rain as much as possible.

Fuji watched Akaya's back until the boy disappeared into the building.

When he got home, Saeki, Eiji, and Yuuta was getting ready to leave for their morning classes. They bid each other good bye and Fuji went inside their house to get ready for classes as well.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tezuka dropped his brother off at his college before heading to work.

As usual, Ryuzaki Sakuno had a steaming coffee mug in one hand and a file in her other waiting for him as he stepped out of the elevator.

Tezuka had no idea how his secretary had such perfect timing on his arrival, but he didn't bother to ask. He took the mug and the folder. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"What is my schedule for today?"

Tezuka asked as they both walked toward Tezuka's office, Ryuzaki trailing behind reporting. "You have a meeting with the shareholders at 10 am and another one with one of your consumer at 3 pm."

"That's all?" Tezuka walked behind his desk and set the mug and folder down on his desk. He took off his coat and hung it over his chair.

"Yes sir! You're going home early today."

Tezuka smiled. "Thank you."

Ryuzaki bowed and left the room. Tezuka reflected on how lucky he was to find a diligent secretary like that. She was anything but seductive or suggestive, which he was highly grateful for.

After the meeting with his shareholders, he went back to his office around 11:30.

As he walked by Ryuzaki's desk, the secretary stopped him in his track.

"Yushi-san called and said she made a lunch appointment for you and someone named Yukimura Seiichi."

Tezuka's elegant eyebrow went up in question. "…Where?"

"At Aozu Villa."

"When?"

"As soon as possible."

Tezuka sighed. "Alright." He handed the folder he had in hand. "Make 2 copies of this and leave them on my desk after you're done."

She took it. "Yes, sir."

Tezuka went to his office to grab his coat and left.

The rain was lighter on the way to Aozu Villa. Tezuka thought it was a weird name that his friend decided to use for his restaurant.

Upon arriving, the host immediately recognized him. "Shall I let Inui-san know that you're here, sir?"

Tezuka shook his head and took off his coat, giving it to the host. "It's fine."

"Then this way, sir." He led Tezuka to the terrace of the restaurant on the second level.

When he saw a person with long wavy blue hair, he asked the host. "That's her?"

The host nodded.

Tezuka told the host that he could get to the table by himself and the host left.

Tezuka approached the person from behind.

Hearing footsteps, the person turned around and Tezuka got a good look at his lunch companion for today. She was a beauty, almost a model if not for her height.

"Hello, my name is Tezuka Kunimitsu." He offered a handshake in which the beauty took.

"Hi, I'm Yukimura Seiichi." She returned in a soft polite voice.

"I apologize for making you wait."

She smiled beautifully and shook her head. "Don't be. You must be busy."

"It's fine."

"That's a relief. I don't want to interfere with your work."

Tezuka smiled and tapped on the wine glass in front of him. "So, where do you live?"

Yukimura relaxed onto the back rest. "Almost an hour drive, but it's not bad."

"I see." Tezuka's eyes divert to his glass wine.

"I heard from your family that you never had a girlfriend."

Tezuka's eyes looked up at Yukimura. Well, she was straightforward. Tezuka nodded. "How about you?"

"Not at the moment."

"Ah."

"I'm currently modeling for my dad's company. He said I should stop dating and get married. I guess I must be at the age to settle down in his standards."

Tezuka bobbed his head, indicating that he was listening. "Have you found the right person?"

Yukimura took a sip from her wine glass. She looked as if she was reluctant to give an answer.

Tezuka eyed her observantly. "So you have a candidate."

"I'm sorry."

Tezuka looked at her with confusion. "Why?"

"I am supposed to be here with the thought of falling in love with you, but…"

Tezuka simply smiled. "Don't be. To be honest, I don't plan on getting married soon. My sister suggested that I should at least meet you, if anything befriend you."

Yukimura's eyes brightened and she looked more comfortable. "Truly?"

Tezuka nodded.

She let out a relieved sigh. "I was worrying over nothing then."

"Well, I guess we're friends then?"

Yukimura nodded and the food came.

After lunch, Yukimura had to leave right away for her medical appointment.

Inui showed up right after and took the seat in front of Tezuka. "She looked quite happy. Got a catch?"

Tezuka regarded Inui with a lightly scrunch of the forehead. "We're friends."

Inui seemed disappointed. "I thought you really got her. She is a beauty."

Tezuka shrugged and finished his glass of wine.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're gay or really have no interest in romance at all."

Tezuka glared at Inui.

"Hahaha. Just kidding." Inui raised both hands up in surrender and stood up.

"Whatever, I need to get back."

Inui walked Tezuka to his car and he drove off.

He slowed his car down to a stop in front of the red light. While waiting, he looked around at the busy stores on the sidewalk and the pedestrians walking by happily.

It had stopped raining.

The sound of the pedestrian walking signal alerted him that the light was green. He stepped on the gas pedal and the car propel forward slowly. Before his car picked up the speed, a car ran a red light zoomed right across his car. In an instant, he reflexively swerved his car to the left, luckily avoiding friction, but not so lucky when he looked out from his window pane and saw a pedestrian in front of his moving car. He stepped on the brake hard, hearing screeching noises his tires made.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Fuji just got out of his school and now he was on his way to his work place. He waited for the pedestrian sign to light up to cross the street. He was one third to the other side when he heard a loud vrooming and then the pedestrians screamed as they scurried to the sidewalk, trying to avoid the speeding car that violated the red light.

It was a chaos, and the only thing in his mind was to get off the road because the cars that tried to avoid friction were swerving around dangerously.

But a small child in the middle of the crosswalk made him run into the middle of the street instead of the other way. When he reached the child, he heard a loud screeching sound and he looked up to see a car going toward him. He hugged the child protectively and tightly and crouched down the cement. It was too late to run away.

After a moment when the screeching sound stopped, Fuji looked up with shaky eyes. He looked around and saw people running toward him and the child in his arms. He thought he was dead with only his spirit seeing what was around them.

Until the child ran out his arms to her mother did he realize he was still alive and uninjured. He was still breathing heavily when a man tugged on his shoulders, asking him if he was alright.

Fuji turned his dazed eyes to the man's face. Slowly his eyes widened and he blinked, staring at the man's face.

"Are you alright?"

Fuji nodded absentmindedly.

"Are you sure?" The man looked worried.

Fuji merely nodded lightly again.

The man frowned, as if expecting Fuji to say that he was hurt somewhere. "…Alright." He removed his hands from Fuji's shoulders and reached into a pant pocket, pulling out his wallet. "Here's my business card. If you find out you're injured somewhere later on, give me a call."

Fuji took the card, without shifting his gaze away from the man. He nodded again.

The man smiled and stood up. Fuji watched the man moved into his car as he drove away. The other cars slowly detangled from the mess. The policemen were there to file reports on any damage.

Fuji stood up when the man's car was out of sight. He blinked again thinking that was the handsomest man with the warmest smile he had ever seen in his life. He looked down at the business card. He blinked. "Tezuka Kunimitsu."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

After work, he remembered to bring home a slice of cake for Akaya, who was the only one in his family had a sweet tooth.

Good thing the weather calmed down somewhat, at least there wasn't any wind, but it was still drizzling outside. On one hand he held an umbrella over his head and the other he held the little box of cake.

He stood at the curb line, waiting for a walking signal that he had just missed a minute ago. He pushed the button on the pole and waited, looking ahead.

Cars going across vroomed pass him on green light. Then yellow light, the cars slowed down. On red, the cars stopped.

Fuji was about to take a step down the road when a familiar man in a familiar car at the front of the line looking down at his phone in the driver's seat. Fuji blinked and smiled wider.

_Tezuka Kunimitsu, the man from earlier._

He was so happy and was about to tap on the car window when a pedestrian bumped into him, reminding him that the signal had gone off some seconds ago and that he needed to go home.

He sighed and crossed the street after a last longing look at Tezuka.

_Rich people._


	2. Chapter 2

TYPICAL ROMANCE - CHAPTER 2

Tezuka drove directly to the 5-star hotel owned by one of Tezuka's bachelor friends where a conference was going to take place in a few minutes after he dropped off his brother at school. Upon arriving in front of the grand entrance, a valet came over to take his car.

Knowing before hand, Ryuzaki was waiting for him in front of the elevator.

She gave a little bow with a cheerful smile when she saw Tezuka. "Good Morning, sir."

Tezuka gave a little nod and took the folder that Sakuno held out to him. "Thank you."

Today was the annual general meeting. All members, including the company's officers and shareholders, were mandatory to show up and Tezuka expected no less from anyone regardless of their ranking within the company.

They rode the elevator up to the 5th floor. The entire floor consisted of conference rooms despite it being a hotel. The one that Ryuzaki booked was at the utmost end of the hallway, which was the biggest room.

The double tinted sound-proof crystalline glass door opened on automatic when they entered the censored zone.

"Good Morning everyone. Thank you for being prompt and on schedule." Tezuka said as he walked to the end seat of the black rectangular marbled table. Every chair was filled, except for the one on his left. He gave it a glance before organizing the papers in front of him. "We will commence the meeting now. Kaido, please begin."

"Hai." Kaido nodded and stood up from his seat. He collected the papers into his hands and walked over to the podium in front of the projector. He fixed the microphone and began speaking. "Good morning everyone. I will introduce my self again for the new members this year. My name is Kaido Kaoru and I am the vice president of Tez. Co. In the company, I am responsible for tracking and recording our company's sales activity. Within the last 5 years, our sales have gone up 200% with the highest in the most recent year."

Just then, the door slid opened and Atobe stepped through. Kaido continued regardless of the interruption. Everyone spared him a glance before diverting his or her attention back on Kaido and the projector screen.

Atobe quietly walked to the seat beside Tezuka and sat down.

"You're late." Tezuka pointed out without sparing Atobe a glance.

"I know, and I have a reasonable excuse."

"Whatever the case, please be on schedule the next time."

Atobe scoffed good-humoredly.

The meeting lasted half a day. The majority people went back to work and a few stayed behind talking to Tezuka.

"What a lucky bastard." Atobe randomly commented.

Tezuka's eyebrow rose in question and glanced at Atobe. "Who?"

Atobe indicated at a pair with a tilt of his head in their direction. "Your lawyer."

Tezuka merely smirked. "Then get yourself a lover. Don't walk around with jealousy apparent to the public." He walked out of the room.

Atobe scoffed indignantly and followed Tezuka out. They met the pair by the elevator.

Tezuka smiled. "I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

Yukimura smiled back. "My father has to go on an emergency meeting oversea yesterday, so I came in his place instead."

Tezuka nodded in understanding. "Is everything alright?"

The elevator dinged and pulled open. They stepped inside.

"Yes, it is nothing my father cannot solve."

"Hm." Tezuka agreed. He wondered if Yukimura and his lawyer knew each other well by the way they interacted with each other.

On a swift look at Tezuka's expression, Yukimura immediately understood what Tezuka had in mind. She looked at Sanada and smiled shyly before telling Tezuka. "He's that person."

Tezuka nodded in realization. "Ah. I see."

"I wasn't aware that you both knew each other before today." Sanada commented with mild curiosity.

"We're friends." Yukimura responded simply.

"Oh, pardon me." Tezuka looked at Atobe, who had been unusually quiet since. "This is Atobe Keigo."

Yukimura extended her arm. "Nice to meet you, I'm Yukimura Seiichi."

Atobe shook the offered hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you too."

Looking at Yukimura as she talked to Atobe somehow reminded Tezuka of the brunette the other day. It had been a week since that accident, and he hadn't received a phone call from that person. Usually, people would try to make money off of him in those kinds of situations. Not that it happened before, but just because he was aware of it.

"Sanada."

Sanada looked at Tezuka. "Yes?"

"Say, what is the law against hit and run?" It wasn't really a hit and run and of course, someone as educated as Tezuka would already know the consequences.

"Hit and run?" Sanada's eyes blinked as if he was trying to figure out by what Tezuka meant because Tezuka would never commit a hit and run, and he was absolutely sure that Tezuka knew the answer to that as well. "Well, depends on the severity, it can get your license suspended or imprisonment." He shrugged. "Why?"

"Nothing. What about how much can a person claim in a pedestrian-vehicular accident?"

"Up to $10K if the injury is not serious. Is it a serious injury?"

Tezuka shook his head. "No."

"Why are you suddenly asking about vehicle accidents? Don't tell me you're involved in one." Atobe butted into the conversation.

The elevator dinged and they stepped out.

Tezuka briefly looked at Atobe and didn't say anything.

Atobe and Sanada's eyes opened widely. "You are?"

Sanada suddenly panicked. "Was it a hit and run? Did you kill anyone?" He was Tezuka's lawyer after all.

Tezuka frowned. "You both are overreacting. Didn't you hear about the accident last week?"

"The one near the city square?." Sanada and Atobe simultaneously asked and Tezuka nodded.

"What happened?" Yukimura inquired calmly.

"I almost hit someone while trying to avoid the speeding car. He said he was okay, so I didn't take him to the hospital."

"But you gave him your business card?"

"Yeah."

"Then there's nothing you need to worry about."

Tezuka sighed. "I guess." Inside, he still felt uneasy that he couldn't confirm the person's well-being. His over-responsibility habit was too strong to avoid.

Yukimura and Sanada went ahead as they had a reservation elsewhere.

Tezuka retrieved his car from the valet and both he and Atobe drove off to lunch.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Oy! Fuji!"

"!" Fuji jumped at the contact of someone tapped his shoulder. Fuji turned. It was Niou, his co-worker at the bakery, who happened to be his boss's nephew.

"You're spacing out again. What's on your mind?" Niou pointed out with a curious grin.

"Oh nothing." Fuji smiled and casually shrugged. He picked up a rag nearby to wipe the counter while humming.

"I don't think so. You were smiling, so something good must have happened, right?" Niou nudged Fuji's arm.

Fuji cracked a laugh to evade the question before walking over to the basin and wringing the rag under the faucet.

"Whatever." Niou waved in defeat and walked into the pastry room.

Fuji continued humming while he cleaned his work area, although it was already sparkly clean. Business was slow that day. He looked outside and saw gray clouds coming in again.

"Fuji!"

"What?"

Niou peeked his head out. "Is it alright if you close by yourself today?"

"Why?" Fuji looked at Niou with a raised eyebrow in confusion and curiosity.

"I have a job interview at 6." Niou disappeared behind the door.

"Where?" Fuji walked over to the door and stood there.

"Tez. Co. Heard of it?"

Fuji creased his forehead as he thought. "Sounds familiar. What is it?"

"Big company." Niou walked out, fully changed into something more formal than what the silver-head usually wore every day. "Very successful, and they are hiring."

"For what position?" Fuji followed Niou to the shop's main door.

Niou picked up his umbrella at the bin by the door. "Public Relations Assistant."

"Ah I see. Well, good luck and hope your interview goes well." Fuji was hoping for something that related to his field of study, so he can get a head start before getting his degree in a few months.

"Thanks." Niou grinned and gave Fuji a brief hug before leaving.

Fuji sighed, looking after Niou. Niou graduated a few months ago, but only found a job that suited him until now. Fuji smiled, feeling a bit envious. He wanted to graduate so badly to get a higher paying job right now.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A few months of rain had passed and the sky became more clear and sunny. Spring was coming, leaving tiny buds on fresh branches. As the weather became warmer, more people flourished the streets of Japan. This spring, a handful of college graduated with their college degrees.

In celebration, most graduates dined out at high class restaurants or clubs if they have money.

Fuji's family, although poor, went out to a common restaurant to celebrate his graduation.

The family of 6, excluding the 2 oldest siblings, ordered almost everything on the menu. Eiji and Akaya wanted to try everything on the menu since they rarely dined out, and the smiles on the youngling's face couldn't be refused anything.

Fuji reflected on the assiduous days of the past, how most of his days were spent in school, at work, and at home. Now, he was finally able to have some time on his hands to do some short-distant traveling.

"Congratulation, Syusuke." Yoshiko reached out to touch Fuji's hand that was placed on the table.

"Mom. I finally did it." Fuji squeezed his mom's hands and offered the brightest smile.

"Yes, you did it." Yoshiko smiled and rubbed her thumbs over Fuji's cold hands. "I knew you'd be able to do it."

Fuji nodded. "I will get a good job and pay for Akaya's tuition and the bills, so you and dad won't have to sell fish in the market anymore."

Yoshiko smiled. "Thank you, Syusuke. Thank you." She knew that promised day would come soon, believing her son can accomplish anything. Although Kuranosuke and Yumiko said the same thing when they first got their current jobs, they had a family now. As a mother, Yoshiko understood her two oldest's duty and refused to ask for their help financially. They had already done enough by sending their siblings to school. As for Fuji, Yoshiko could see that he won't be entering marriage anytime soon.

Even though Fuji wasn't the oldest, he took it upon himself to act like an oldest child in the family and assume a responsibility to provide finance to his family.

Sitting in a common restaurant right now, he could imagine his family dinning without restraint in a high-class restaurant in the future. He wanted to buy them a nice house and all the expensive food that Akaya kept telling him about. He promised silently that the day when his brothers wouldn't have to walk to school on stormy days and his parents wouldn't be freezing their hands off in the fish market would come very soon.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tezuka walked out of his office, holding an opened envelop in his hand.

Ryuzaki looked up as her boss approached her desk with a frown. "Is everything alright?"

Tezuka sighed and held out the envelop to his secretary. "Souen-san has resigned. We need a new person to fill in her position as soon as possible."

Ryuzaki took the envelop and blinked. "Why don't you promote her assistant?"

"Then I'd have to promote the others to fill in each position." Tezuka pocketed his hands. "Just find someone to replace Souen-san, and please find someone who is competent."

"Yes sir." Ryuzaki smiled and filed the resignation letter.

"Also, find a female."

"Understood." Ryuzaki was aware that Souen-san's division consisted mainly of females. It was just simply more efficient if the new person is a female to watch over the accounting division. After all, the den needs a vigilant mother bear to lead them.

Once the hiring flyer was produced, a grandiose number of female tigers swarmed into the company to apply for the interview date. Ryuzaki thought it would be too bothersome to view everyone's application before the interviews, so she decided to have the interviews first to directly select a few that she thought would be competent enough under Tezuka's judgment. Other than that, it also saved some trees.

Ryoma glanced incredulously at the packed lounge on the first floor as he entered through the double glass doors to his family company. Maybe he was thinking too cockily, but he was sure that more than half of the females in the lounge only came in hope to get the job that would give them a big chance seeing his brother up close. He shook his head in amusement and walked toward the elevator. _Typical females._

Ryuzaki wasn't behind her desk like Ryoma would usually find her when he came by, and he knew the reason why. The floor also had a few other workers behind their own cubicles doing paperwork and holding phone calls.

Before Ryoma reached the door of Tezuka's office, Kaido called out to him.

"Tezuka-san has a guest waiting in his office."

Ryoma raised a confused eyebrow. "If he's not in his office, then where is he?"

"He went out with a client an hour ago."

Ryoma simply nodded and pondered for a moment. "The guest, who is it?"

"It's the first time I've seen her. She said something about being the daughter of a shareholder."

"I see." Ryoma turned on his heels. "When my brother comes back, tell him I already went home."

Kaido nodded. "I will."

Ryoma briefly glanced at the door before he left. The person behind the door perturbed him. Whoever that person was, he had a feeling that something troublesome is making way toward his brother's office.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was very unexpected to see someone sitting on the settee in his office, not to mention that the said settee was the one that Ryoma requested to be put in there as his bed. The unexpected guest looked up and smiled widely as she stood up. Her heels tapped on the floor softly.

Tezuka regarded her with an indifferent expression like the one he gave strangers. "You are?" He waited at the door.

"My father is one of your shareholders. He told me about your company looking for a new Accounting Director."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow in question. The lady in front of him was using too much of her right brain activity. She didn't even answer his question.

"Ah, how rude of me." She approached Tezuka with the clicks of her 3 inches pumps. "My name is Aoki Sora." She offered a hand shake that Tezuka promptly shook with a nod of his head.

"May I assume that you're here for the job interview?"

"Yes." She smiled brightly.

"Then I'm sorry to say that you're in the wrong place. My secretary is the one who makes the decision, and she is currently conducting the interview on the 2nd floor."

Suddenly, Sora giggled. "I think _you're_ mistaking. I'm _not_ here to _apply_ for the position."

Tezuka looked at her with bedazzlement.

"I'm here to _take_ the position." Sora emphasized with the pucker of her red lips.

A small amusing smile appeared on Tezuka's face. "I have a policy of strict equality upon hiring my employees based on their competency, not relations."

The smile on Sora's face became strained and she straightened up. "I have 5 years of experience as an accounting director in the States before I came here. I'm sure I have more qualifications than those who are waiting for the results of their interviews at this moment."

Tezuka took a subtle deep breath. "I've given my secretary the authority to hire the new Accounting Director. If you still want to take up the offer, I suggest you have a talk with her first." Without waiting for a response, Tezuka called for Kaido. "Please show Miss Sora to the interview room." He gave Sora a slight nod before moving over to his desk.

Sora thinned her lips before an amusing smile made its way to her face as she looked at Tezuka. _Just you wait._ A glint of cunning malice reflected in her eyes along with Tezuka's figure.

"Miss Aoki?" Kaido prompted and politely asked her to leave with the extension of his arms.

Without another word, she left and Kaido closed the door gently.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

An hour before his shift started, Fuji walked around the city to find a high paying job. He collected a few flyers here and there ranging from medical office to a designer's bouquet, but none pique his interest. Judging by his progress right now, it won't be anytime soon that he found a job that he truly liked.

Fuji sighed and entered the bakery with his head down.

"Yo, Fuji!"

Surprised, Fuji looked up and saw Niou standing behind the counter wearing a black expensive suit. "Hey."

Niou grinned and leaned over the counter. "How's job hunting going?"

Fuji shrugged and produced a stack of flyers from his messenger back, slapping them on the counter. "None of the places are interesting. I was hoping there'd be a lot." He sighed and went to the locker room where he could put his belongings. A few seconds later, he came out. "By the way, what are you doing here?"

Niou was shuffling through the flyers. "I'm on my break. Kind of missed the pastries here, so thought I'd drop by and see you in the process. Also, congratulations on your graduation."

Fuji smiled. "Thank You."

Niou stacked the flyers and gave them to Fuji. "What kind of job are you looking for? Maybe I can help?"

Fuji pondered while stuffing the flyers into the cabinet under the register. "Office work, you know, like those in the movie where people work separately in their own cubicles." He sighed. "Seeing my progress right now, I guess anything is fine as long as it pays well."

Niou nodded. Then a sudden thought came to his mind. "Hey!"

"What is it?"

"My company is hiring."

"Really?" That caused Fuji's eyes to open in interest.

"Yeah. It's looking for someone to fill in the Accounting Director seat. Hot spot, you know? There are at least 50 interviews per day, and it's been going on for a few days now."

"Is it still up?"

Niou shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. You should give it a try." Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Fuji was very much interest. There was a small important information about the job, but he decided to not reveal it to Fuji at this moment.

"Oh I will. Now give me the address of your company."

"You're not going right now, right?" Niou skeptically looked at Fuji as he fished out his wallet.

"I'm not irresponsible. I'll wait until Shinji gets here."

"Alright, here."

Fuji snatched the card and looked at it. He blinked. There was something familiar about the address printed.

Fuji immediately took off when Shinji arrived on his shift. He took the bus there, shortly remembered that the company was in the same district as that of Yumiko's residence. He smiled, maybe he should stop by and visit his sister later on.

He got off the bus and walked a short distance to arrive at the company. There was a small white leaflet pasting at a corner of the glass wall of the company that had information about the hiring. He peeked through the glass wall and saw a small line of females conversing with one another as they waited for something. Fuji stood back with a pondering frown. There was something odd about that line.

Nevertheless, he went in and approached the reception desk.

"Welcome to Tez. Co. How may I help you?" The receptionist said with a friendly smile.

"Hi. Are you still accepting application for Accounting Director?"

The receptionist nodded. "Yes, but…" She looked at Fuji closely while he waited in anticipation. "The position only accepts female applicants."

Fuji was wearing a simply gray T-shirt and jeans. With a flat chest like that, there was no way anyone could mistake him as a girl.

"Oh." Fuji felt disappointed. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry." She smiled in condolence.

Fuji nodded and turned on his heels. Just as he was taking a step, a sleek black car stopped directly in the front.

The car had a strong masculine touch to the exterior, and there was something familiar about that car. Fuji watched in anticipation and curiosity to see whom the nice car belonged to. When a man stepped out from the car and hurriedly gave his car keys to the guard in front, Fuji eyes widened in recognition.

Fuji gawked. _Him! _The one who almost crashed into him. Fuji wracked his brain for the name.

In haste, the man came in through the door and hurried towards the elevator without looking elsewhere.

Fuji blinked when the man stepped into the elevator and turned around to face him. Fuji watched. Unexpectedly when the door of the elevator was closing, the man looked up and locked eyes with him.

Fuji gasped and felt hot all of a sudden, like his system was overworking strenuously, a feeling that he had never felt before. In countenance, Fuji could tell there was recognition in the man's eyes because from far away, the only indication of Tezuka's fractioned widened of his eyes told him so.

AN: lovefuji, Morelen, secret 25, almarilyo, azab, KyuubiMeiHime, Skysurf - Thank you for your reviews on the first chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

TYPICAL ROMANCE - CHAPTER 3

Times seemed to have slowed as the elevator door slid close. Fuji kept his gaze on the other, blue eyes wide opened. It was a strange and new feeling, his heart beating fast and uncontrollably.

Fuji placed his hand over his heart as his breath gaining back control from shallowness, attempting to calm his raging emotion.

_Calm down Syusuke. You need to calm down._

Fuji glanced up at the elevator again before deciding to leave.

_I should get out of here._

He ran out of the building and down the steps, toward the bus stop right on time to catch the public transportation to Yumiko's place.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-

Tezuka was shocked.

It was as if he just stared into Medusa's eyes, except those eyes were the nicest blue he had seen, and he couldn't move nor could he think straight. It was strange, yet not so strange.

When the elevator dinged on the 5th floor, the door opened and someone greeted him before getting in. It was then that Tezuka realized something. Those eyes that he saw belonged to the person that he almost hit a while ago in the accident.

Tezuka quickly intersected the door before it could close, startling the man in the elevator, and ran out. He ran towards the staircase and flew down the steps to floor 1.

It was to his dismay that the small man had disappeared.

"Where is the man that was here a minute ago?" Tezuka asked the receptionist.

"The man, sir?" She questioned with a mixture of shock and confusion. It was rare to see the President a little off from his calm self.

"Brown hair." Tezuka looked at her with stern eyes.

"Oh. I'm sorry." She quickly apologized for dawdling. "He left just a minute ago, sir."

Without another word, Tezuka walked out the building in quick steps. He ran to the sidewalk and looked up and down the street, but he could not spot any brown head.

Just then, a bus passed by and a quick flash of the young man was seen through the windows. Tezuka's eyes widened a fraction in recognition. He was about the go after the bus, but the security guard stopped him.

"Is something wrong, Tezuka-san?"

Tezuka switched his gaze from the security guard to the bus that was diminishing down the street. "Nothing."

He sighed inwardly, feeling a bit disappointing that he did not get to ask if the young man was okay. For an unknown reason, he felt the need to verify the young man's well-being. He turned and walked back into the building.

He once again approached the reception desk, but this time with a calmer expression. "What was he doing here?"

"He asked if the Accounting Director position was still open, but I told him that we only accept female applicants, sir."

"He was here looking for a job?" Tezuka was taken back. He thought that the reason was something else, like a medical bill that needed to be settled.

"Yes, sir."

Tezuka nodded and thanked her before returning to his schedule.

-..-..-..-..-..-

"Oh! Syusuke!" Yumiko was delighted as she pulled her brother into a hug before ushering him into her house. "What are you doing here?"

Fuji took off his shoes and slid them to the side. "I was looking for a job nearby, and I thought I would drop by for a visit. You know, we haven't seen each other for a month." He followed his sister into the kitchen.

"Oh. What kind of job were you looking for?" Yumiko motioned for Fuji to sit at the dining table and walked to the refrigerator.

Fuji shrugged. "Something related to accounting."

Yumiko smiled and held up a carton of juice, in which Fuji nodded. "Of course, you got a degree in accounting after all." She poured the juice into two glasses and gave one to Fuji. "Where did you go to look for the job?"

Fuji sipped before answering. "Do you know Tez. Co.?"

"Yeah. I have a friend who went there for an interview yesterday …" Her voice slowed down as she realized something. "Wait. Don't tell me you went to that interview!"

Fuji nodded slowly.

"Isn't it restricted to females only?"

"Well, I didn't find that out until I asked the receptionist." Fuji's cheeks turned slightly pink in embarrassment.

Yumiko chuckled and crossed her arms. "Oh well, there are many other jobs out there that fit you, so don't be so disappointed about it."

Fuji's lips pouted uncertainly. "I don't understand why it's restricted to females only. I mean, males can do just as well as females." He didn't know what compelled him to say that. Usually, it wouldn't be a big deal and he wouldn't be bitter about it.

Yumiko merely smiled in amusement. "Everything has a reason Syusuke, but you know what?"

"What?" Fuji blinked.

Yumiko's smile turned into a tease. "It seems like you really want to work there, and I can tell that it is not just the job that you want."

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"See?" Yumiko pointed out almost too excited. "You stuttered. You only do that when you're nervous."

Fuji glared. "Stop it nee-san."

She got it down to a giggle. "What's your reason, Syusuke?"

Fuji sighed and slunk on the chair. "I don't know."

Yumiko observed her brother silently. She could see a wistful look in Fuji's eyes. "Maybe there is someone that you like working there?"

Fuji's eyes immediately widened.

"Ohhhh, so it is!" Yumiko clapped her hands with excitement. Cheeks pulled upward with a wide smile. "Who is it?"

Fuji looked at his sister warily. "Well, I sort of felt attracted to him."

Yumiko's smile froze on her face as she process Fuji's words…Pause. Rewind. Yumiko sat up straight and stared at Fuji. "Him?"

Fuji nodded sheepishly.

"Him?" She asked again before her eyes narrowed and demanded. "Who is this 'him'?"

Fuji twitched nervously under his sister's renounced glare, the one that was used to keep troublemakers away when she was still selling fish in the market with their parents.

"Well…" Fuji paused. "It's…"

"Spill it." She commanded in a scary tone.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu." Fuji winced internally for replying too quickly and was surprised with himself that the name slipped out so easily. He had forgotten momentarily about the business card and couldn't rack up the name, but suddenly his sister's interrogation brought it out like he had memorized it diligently.

Yumiko's eyes fluttered away as she pondered on the familiar name. "Tezuka Kunimitsu." She whispered. "Oh! Him!"

"Yes, him."

Yumiko then turned 180 degree around. A pleasant smile was on her face. "Decent guy." She tapped her fingers onto the table and smiled teasingly. "You sure aim high, Syusuke."

That made Fuji blushed. "Wh-what do you mean, nee-san?"

"There's the stutter again." She reached over and pinched Fuji's cheek. "No need to be shy. I know exactly how you feel. Believe me. I was like you when I first met my husband."

"Nee-san!" Fuji burst out.

"What?"

"It's not like that."

"Oh denial, denial." She wagged her long finger in front of Fuji's face.

"I'm not." Fuji defended.

"Then explain why you want to work at his company." Yumiko raised an eyebrow in question as if testing Fuji.

"…His company?" He gave her a confused look.

Yumiko shot back a look that made him feel dumb. "Yes Syusuke. Tezuka, Tez Co...?"

"Oh!...Oh!" Fuji chuckled. "That makes sense."

"Pray tell, how did you know him?" She shook her head at him.

"Well, he almost ran over me with his car."

The way he casually explained said it kind of scared her, for his lack of care for the accident itself.

"I wasn't injured at that time, but he gave me his business card and told me to call if anything comes up later on. I just didn't know that I would see him there."

"For someone as smart as you, you're pretty clueless."

He shot her a glare. "There's a first time for everything nee-san."

She laughed softly and threw a teasing grin at him. "Love at first sight, I'll say."

His cheeks instantly colored a deep shade of pink. "It wasn't." He protested weakly. He wasn't even sure himself that it was love. "How can you love someone without even talking to them. That's absurd!"

"Okay, I'll ask you another question then...What's compelling you in wanting to work there?"

His gaze dropped to his hands that were folded on his thighs.

"That's what I mean, Syusuke." Yumiko smiled gently this time, voice filled with wisdom. "You have no other reason to want to work there except that you like him and want to work in the same building as he."

For a moment, Fuji kept silent and reflected on his thoughts. Maybe his sister was right. Even so, there is one problem… "I can't work there anyways."

Yumiko reached over and lifted Fuji's face up. "Who said you can't? I think you can." She pulled away and sipped from the glass.

"How?" Fuji's eyes sparked with curiosity.

"Oh. There's a way." Yumiko's smiled stretched.

-..-..-..-..-..-

"Tezuka-san!"

Tezuka stopped, his hands on the handle as he was about to enter his office, and turned his head around. "Yes?"

Ryuzaki held up a manila colored folder. "I found a candidate for you."

"Ah." Tezuka turned fully around and took the folder, opening it to view the content. He skimmed through the profile. When his eyes caught the profile photo, his left eyebrow went up. He tapped on the picture. "Her?"

"Yes." Ryuzaki nodded. "She's the most competent out of the 250. Her background is clean and her education is very promising."

Tezuka pursed his lips in thoughts and gave Ryuzaki an approval nod. "Thank you for your hard work."

Ryuzaki smiled. "Thank you, Tezuka-san."

Tezuka entered his office and sat down at his desk. He put the folder aside, not really caring about whether the new director would be the best pick or not. If his secretary approved it, then he had nothing to worry about.

The next day, Aoki began her first day. She moved in a few things that she thought necessary to decorate her office with. It took her 4 hours to organize her office and another 2 hours to go through the database. At the end of midday, Aoki was on her way to the top floor of the building.

She went right up to Ryuzaki's desk.

"How was your first day, Aoki-san?" Ryuzaki asked with an amicable smile.

Aoki smiled back. "It was splendid, and everything went well, thank you."

"That's good to hear."

Aoki pouted. "But I have a little problem."

"Oh? What is it?" Ryuzuki blinked in mild curiosity.

"I've looked over the database and went around to check on the progress of my department. There are many things that need to be fixed and I need a personal assistant to help me carry out my job as a director more dutifully."

A trouble expression crossed Ryuzaki's face. "A personal assistant?" Surely Tezuka would not approve of that.

"Yes." Aoki smiled sweetly.

"Oh, but there is a secretary in your department. You can get her to help you." Ryuzaki suggested.

Aoki smiled with a frown. "I thought about that too, but the secretary in my department is pregnant, and I do not think that she will be much help."

"Mhm…" Ryuzaki nodded in understanding. "In that case, I'll need to inform Tezuka-san on this matter."

"That'd be most wonderful!" Aoki resumed her high cheek bones smile.

"I'll let you know of Tezuka-san's decision before lunch break is over."

"Thank you." Aoki said cheerfully and walked away.

Ryuzaki sighed and went to Tezuka's office.

"Just a second." Tezuka held up a finger before resuming the conversation over the telephone. "Yes, yes. I will have someone over to verify the progress. Thank you. Good bye." After hanging up the phone, he looked at Ryuzakia. "What is it?"

"Mhm…" Ryuzaki hesitated, mentally formulating the best way to inform Tezuka.

Tezuka waited patiently.

"Aoki-san requests for a personal assistant."

Tezuka sat back. "Reason being?"

"She said that there are a few things that need to be fixed in her department that requires a personal assistant."

It was not in Tezuka's nature to hire more people than work demanded. He was simply a practical person with a practical work philosophy. If there are enough people to execute the works, then there is no need to hire another to share the workload.

Seeing how he hadn't been to the accounting department for quite a while, he couldn't give a say about its workload, so he did not outright reject the request. "I believe there is a secretary for every department, is there not?"

"You are correct. That is what I told Aoki-san, and she said that the current secretary is pregnant. Aoki-san believes that the current secretary will not be able to execute her requests diligently."

"Ah." Tezuka nodded in understanding. "I suppose that is fine."

"Really?" Ryuzaki blinked.

Tezuka nodded. "Do verify the condition of the department before confirming Aoki's request."

"Hai." And Ryuzaki excused herself from the room.

-..-..-..-..-..-

"You look fine, Syusuke. Stop messing up your hair!" Yumiko told her brother, albeit exasperatedly. "Your pulling and tugging is turning it into a bird nest!"

After the transformation, Fuji had been sitting in front of Yumiko's make up desk with an uneasy expression. "Hmm."

"Hurry and get into the car!" Yumiko hollered.

"Okay, okay!" Fuji yelled back. He stood up and sighed. _I hope this is worth it, because my pride is forlornly sacrificed._ Fuji straightened out his garments before leaving the room.

-..-..-..-..-..-

The sun was at its peak in the sky at lunch time, but it was not so clear, seeing many clouds covering part of the vast blueness.

Salary men on lunch break were everywhere, chatting and eating with their co-workers. Because it was lunch hour, the traffic was slow and peaceful.

Then, a small black car drove into the driveway and stopped in front of the building's main entrance. Employees of Tez. Co. became disengaged in their conversations and looked to the arrived car with mild curiosity.

After a moment of silence, the door opened. Slowly a slim leg stepped out from the car, sleek black heels strapped to her foot, then came the next slim limp.

There were a few wolf-whistled coming in all direction. Their eyes were now fixated on seeing whomever those sexy legs belonged to.

From the east, a gust of wind flew by and the sky cleared up, creating a sun beam shooting directly down the car. An angelic female fully got out of the car, her shoulders and chins high. The sun beam successfully created a glow on the female's light brown hair and reflected a halo on her head. The wind carried her soft silky hair in a fluttery pattern.

In the spectators' eyes, an angel had just descended down from heaven.

She took her first step, and…

"Oo!" The female tripped and the men internally winced.

_OOOH!_

Luckily, she was able to catch herself before hitting the ground. A light pink color dusted her cheeks, clearly showing her embarrassment.

The men sweat dropped.

The female then turned around, bowing down to thank the driver of the car.

Red fluid flowed down from some notrils

Her skirt flew up a few inches.

_Cute!_ The men drooled perversely.

The female then closed the door. She straightened herself before walking towards the entrance, oblivious to the lustful stares as her mind was occupied with how to fool the receptionist.

Half way up the stairs, a young man dashed by and collided into the female. Her eyes widened as she realized she would not be able to catch herself and her heart momentarily stopped in anticipation of the steps and hard ground.

A strong arm appeared out of nowhere and looped around the female's waist, pulling her close to a manly body, proliferating with a strong scent of a bachelor.

The female then let out a breath of relief. She blinked unbelievingly before looking closely at her savior with her eyes wide opened.

TBC -

**AN**: Thank you for responding to my inquiries last chapter. (special thanks to: **wara ningyo, devi no kaze, SkySurf, I heart ANIME and MANGA, yoshikochan, MoonLuna2009, Syusuke, Secret25, KuraiMinoru**)


	4. Chapter 4

TYPICAL ROMANCE - CHAPTER 4

"You have beautiful eyes." The man looked down at the 'female' and smiled handsomely with flirtation obvious in his voice.

The 'female' quickly blushed and separated from the man with her eyes casted downward to the floor. "I'm sorry." She muttered.

The man chuckled deeply with a sexy tone vibrating underneath. "I believe I should get a 'thank you', don't you think?"

The 'female' winced at her mistake and immediately said a word of gratitude as she looked up at him. The man had a strange shade of silver lavender hair color that carried him in a luxurious manner, especially with the mole under his eye.

A young man in a black suit, who seemed to be the man's bodyguard, came up and whispered into the man's ear with a nod before he turned back to the 'female'. "Please excuse me. I currently have someone waiting for me, but it's nice to meet you. My name is Atobe Keigo. What is your name?" Atobe offered a handshake.

"Fuji Syus-ki." Fuji mentally berated himself for almost slipping his real name, shaking Atobe's offered hand.

"Syuski?" Atobe repeated to confirm.

"It's Syuki." Fuji smiled. "Sorry."

"That's alright. Hope I'll get to see you around soon, hm?"

Fuji nodded.

Atobe smiled brilliantly once again before entering the building with the young man in tow. Fuji watched Atobe's back until he disappeared into the elevator, leaving Fuji to wonder who Atobe Keigo was.

He walked to the receptionist with a confident smile. This time, the gender issue was solved.

The same secretary looked up and greeted Fuji without a feeling of familiarity, for that, Fuji thanked his sister. "Welcome to Tez. Co. How may I help you miss?"

"Hello." Fuji lifted his voice to lighten his tone. "Are you still hiring?"

The secretary's face crinkled in sympathy. "I'm sorry. The decision for the position was decided this morning."

Fuji's face fell, replaced with a strained smile. "Oh, is that so?" He sighed deeply inwardly. How could he had such a luck twice within the same company?

"Yeah…"

"Okay." Fuji's smile rebounded. "But is there any other position that is hiring right now?" He tried.

The secretary shook her head. "Hmm…"

Ryuzaki had no idea what to do about the issue of finding a personal assistant for Aoki. It'd be too much trouble to post another hiring sign. She sighed as she sat down behind her desk, trying to think of something while dialing the number to Aoki's office.

Unfortunately, Aoki was out and she didn't pick up her phone. Ryuzaki grabbed her purse and left to go see Aoki in person.

When the elevator dinged open, Ryuzaki almost collided into Atobe as he stepped out.

"Atobe-san." Ryuzaki bowed and quickly apologized. She momentarily forgot that Atobe was coming.

Atobe waved it off. "Is Tezuka in his office?"

"Yes, sir." Ryuzuki nodded, coming to stand in between the elevator so it wouldn't close up. "He's waiting for you."

Atobe nodded and walked on. Suddenly, Atobe stopped and turned around. "By the way,"

The door almost closed. Ryuzaki had to slide her body in between to stop in from closing. She let out a breath of relief and looked up at Atobe with a smile. "Yes?"

"You are surprisingly good at choosing employees for Tezuka." He complimented before turning around.

Ryuzaki found her smiling at the compliment and stepped back to let the door close. "I wonder what he means."

The way down was fast because the elevator didn't stop at any level. Ryuzaki stepped out, going toward the opposite side of the first floor to reach the cafeteria. She looked around. The secretary was behind her desk talking to someone with her back facing Ryuzaki. The secretary's expression looked troubled. Curiously, Ryuzaki approached them.

"Hello." Ryuzaki greeted as she came to stand by the customer. "Is everything alright?"

The receptionist stood up from her seat. "She is here to inquire about the director's position, but you already made a final decision on it."

"Ah." Ryuzaki turned her attention back to Fuji. "You are here looking for a job?"

"Yes."

"What's your name?"

"My name's Fuji Syuki."

Ryuzaki's eyes unconsciously made a sweep of Fuji from head to toe before smiling brilliantly. "You know what? I think you are in luck of being hired." The truth in business world, physical appearance comes first when evaluating a person's skills, especially by the way they hold themselves. A person who is well groomed is organized. A person who dresses appropriately respects his/her workplace. And of course, looks, in general, is a bonus.

Fuji gasped in surprise. "I am?" He couldn't believe his luck. Earlier, he thought he was out of luck, and now…It came as quickly as it went.

Ryuzaki nodded. "Our new finance director requested for a personal assistant just a while ago, and our president affirmed the request. Would you like to take up this opportunity?"

Fuji couldn't be any happier. He finally got into the company, and soon, he'll be able to see Tezuka every day. "Yes, please!"

"If you have time, I would like to take you to meet your new supervisor right now."

"I have time." Fuji immediately equipped.

Ryuzaki nodded with an admiring smile, something that Fuji wouldn't understand if he spotted it. "Then this way."

Fuji followed her.

"How old are you?" Ryuzaki asked, wanting to make friends with the new worker.

"I'm 26." Fuji replied.

"Really? Wow, you look a few years younger."

Fuji chuckled. It must be Yumiko's magical hands. "Thank you. What about you?"

"I'm 1 year younger than you. I look my age right?"

Fuji took a good look at Ryuzaki as they went through a double door that led into a hallway. "I think you look younger."

Ryuzaki grinned. "That's what most people told me. I almost didn't get my job because they thought I was too young and inexperienced."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. By the way," Ryuzaki turned her head to look at Fuji, showing her pearly white teeth with a smile. "You're really pretty." She couldn't help but complimented.

Fuji refrained from slapping his forehead in embarrassment and let out a small blush. "Please don't say that." _I'm a guy for goodness sake, and a guy is not supposed to be 'pretty'_.

Ryuzaki blinked with confusion, thinking maybe Fuji was being humble. "Why? I really think you are." When they got near the door to the cafeteria, Ryuzaki held the door open for Fuji. "But I think you know that already because a lot of people must have said that to you, right?"

Fuji shook his head. "Actually, you're the first person to call me pretty."

The taken back expression on Ryuzaki's face made Fuji chuckle softly. _That's because I'm a guy._

"No way." Ryuzaki uttered in amazement. "I don't believe that."

Fuji shrugged. "It's true."

Just then, Aoki approached them, as she had seen Ryuzaki came in a moment ago.

"Ryuzaki-chan." Aoki said in a sing-song voice.

"I was looking for you." Ryuzaki regarded Aoki with a gentle smile.

Aoki nodded. "So, what did Tezuka-san say?"

By the happy look on Aoki's face, Ryuzaki could have guess that Aoki already knew the answer. "He said yes, but your assistant must be chosen by me."

Aoki pouted. "Really?"

"But don't worry. I already found you a very good assistant." Ryuzaki glanced at Fuji, putting a hand on Fuji's arm. "This is Fuji Syuki; she will be helping you with your work from now on." She swept a hand toward Aoki. "And this is Aoki Sora, the new Finance Director."

Fuji bowed in respect, seeing that Aoki looked older than he was. "Hello, nice to meet you. Please take care of me."

The smile on Aoki's face froze as she took a good look at Fuji. She tilted her head and gave Fuji another assessing look.

Fuji smile's was strained as he looked at the ground. The sharp eyes of Aoki made him nervous. What if she sensed something was wrong with Fuji? What if she knew Fuji was a guy? The horror! He didn't even get to start his job yet. Worse, he hadn't gotten to talk to Tezuka yet.

Ryuzaki looked between Aoki and Fuji, hoping these two would be fine working together.

Aoki then straightened up before an automatic salesperson smile appeared on her face. "Hello." For some unknown reasons, Aoki felt threatened by Fuji, but a look at Fuji's cheap brand clothes, she deduced that without money, Fuji would not be a worthy competition to her. The bottom line was, Aoki disliked people who work with her that were prettier than her.

"Alright then, now that you both have met each other, why don't you show Fuji-chan around and get her familiarized with our workplace?" Ryuzaki suggested.

Aoki looked uninterested, but smiled nevertheless to Ryuzaki and accepted the suggestion anyways. "Sure, thank you for carrying out my request."

"You're welcome." Ryuzaki said to Aoki before turning back to Fuji. "After you're done, do come by my office on the top floor. You'll see it right away after you get off the elevator."

"I will, and thank you for everything." Fuji bit his lips in excitement as he nodded.

"You're welcome." Ryuzaki waved and left the cafeteria.

Aoki started to speak to him when Ryuzaki was out. "So, are you a friend of her?"

Truth was, Aoki wanted to bring one of her close friends into the company to work as her personal assistant, so she felt disappointed when Ryuzaki introduced this new girl, who seemed to be coming from the countryside, and now she had to take care of her. What a disappointment.

Fuji blinked in confusion. "No. I only met her today. Why?"

"Nothing." Aoki replied immediately. "And refrain from questioning me." That young secretary of the CEO was given too much authority from the CEO in her opinion. "Come on." She left Fuji to follow after her.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"What's with that face?"

"Hm?" Atobe looked up at Tezuka and let out a clear chuckle. The look on Atobe's face could be described as dreamingly in love.

Tezuka spared Atobe a disinterested glance before returning to his mountain of paperwork. His hand swept across pieces of paper, signing and dating where appropriate. Atobe really needed a girlfriend.

"I saw someone today."

Tezuka automatically replied. "Hm?"

Atobe stood up and walked over to the window with one hand in his pant pocket and the other holding a glass of wine looking down the city below. "One of your employees. She has these two gem-like eyes, a shade of sky blue. They're the most captivating eyes I've ever seen. They make you want to fall into them and never come out?"

"That's dangerous."

"Love is an investment. Do you happen to know her?"

"No." Tezuka hadn't heard anyone talking about blue eyes in his company, maybe the person Atobe was talking about worked in a low division labor that Tezuka didn't interact with much. But speaking of blue eyes…Tezuka looked up at Atobe. "Blue eyes? You're sure that's not a he?"

Atobe turned around and gave Tezuka a confused look. "Of course." He said with strong conviction. His eye sight was as sharp as an owl at night. "She was wearing a black silk skirt and a white dress shirt. If that is not girl enough, I don't know what is." He paused as he walked over to Tezuka's desk and sat down. "Why?"

"I saw someone with blue eyes a day ago. I thought it was strange for a Japanese."

"Maybe it's a common trait these days. Who knows, the person you saw might wore color contacts. They are popular now a day, you know?"

"Maybe, but how could you tell the color of her eyes are real?" Tezuka inquired curiously. Even from 5 feet away, you couldn't tell if someone was wearing contacts or not.

At that, Atobe grinned. "I caught her when she was about to fall down the stairs, so I was able to see her eyes this close up." Atobe put his hand in front of his eyes a foot away to tell Tezuka of the distance.

Tezuka nodded. "I see."

"Yeah." Atobe turned his wrist and looked at his silver wristwatch. "Shoot, I better go now."

Tezuka smiled and stood up along with Atobe. "I'll have the package sent to you once it's verified."

Atobe nodded and walked with Tezuka to the door. "I'll be expecting it."

Tezuka walked Atobe to the elevator and sent him off.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"There's no extra space here, so this desk will be your work station." Aoki tapped on the empty desk by the door inside her office.

Fuji only nodded as Aoki showed him the finance department. He memorized everything she told him, from what should or should not be done to making coffee. Apparently, Aoki had a different recipe for her coffee and she made sure Fuji learned it the right way so he could prepare it for her in the future.

"I'll be your boss, so the only orders you will be taking are from me, and no one else, got it?" Aoki turned around to face Fuji. Because Aoki was wearing a 2 inches heel in addition to her height, she looked down on Fuji, intimidating him.

Fuji nodded slowly, not daring a smile. He learned it right away that Aoki didn't like him smiling when he's with her. He didn't know that Aoki thought Fuji looked too captivating with that smile on his face, which made Aoki looked less captivating in comparison.

"Good." Aoki smiled and turned to walk out the door. "That is it. I hope you know your way up to Ryuzaki-chan's office."

Without another word, Aoki disappeared to the restroom.

"It seems that she doesn't like me much." Fuji blinked after Aoki and sighed before smiling to himself. "Oh well, at least I got a job."

It was a good thing that Ryuzaki didn't ask much for his information because he was sure that he couldn't provide her any legal document now that he turned into a female for his job. The secretary got off the topic and chatted away while he sat patiently listening to her.

After Ryuzaki let him go, he went back to Yumiko's house by the bus.

The door opened, and Yumiko's husband, Sasuke, stood in the doorway staring down at Fuji with a confused face. He was sure that they were not expecting any visitors because Yumiko didn't say anything about it.

"Hello." Fuji smiled. "Can I come in?"

Sasuke frowned. "Do I know you?"

"Of course, I'm your brother-in-law…Syusuke?" Fuji prompted.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Syusuke!? What happened to you!?" He pointed an accusing finger at Fuji.

Fuji laughed and pushed through Sasuke to walk into the house. "This is me at my new workplace. How do I look?"

Fuji then posed cutely, making Sasuke gaped.

"Sasuke! Close your mouth." Yumiko chided teasingly and ushered Fuji into her room. "And you, stop giving my husband surprises. He has a weak heart."

Fuji pouted and pointed to himself. "This is your work, Yumiko-nee-san. Don't blame me."

Yumiko giggled and pulled him into the bathroom. "I love my work."

An hour later, Fuji was back to his proper state of dress, meaning, he had turned back to a guy.

"Thank you nee-san." Fuji hugged his sister at the door.

"You sure you don't want a ride home?" Sasuke asked again. Now that Fuji had assumed a girl identity, Sasuke felt the need to be more protective of him. He had always liked the Fuji family. They were like his real family.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Good night and see you tomorrow." Fuji waved and ran down the street to the bus stop.

"Is it a good idea to let him work like that?" Sasuke followed his wife into the kitchen after he closed the door.

"I hope so." Yumiko replied positively. "Besides, it's Syusuke. He'll find a way."

"I seriously don't understand why he wants to work there. Even my place is hiring." Sasuke helped setting the table.

Yumiko turned off the stove and looked at husband with a soft smile. "He's in love with the CEO."

That made Sasuke gasped in surprise.

Love at first sight? Maybe. But it was more at second sight. The first made his heart contemplate while the second made him realized.

Fuji came home just in time for dinner; his brothers were just done setting the table.

With a bit more money, they were able to buy a new low table. They still had to sit on the floor, because if they bought the whole set on dining table and chairs, there wouldn't be enough room inside their small house.

"How's work today? You seem happy." Kochirou equipped with curiosity, staring into Fuji's face.

Fuji pulled away and smiled. "It's just like any other day." The deceiving smile made Kojirou squinted his eyes. "What makes you think today is any different. What about school? How is it going?" He tried to steer away the topic.

"There's nothing new at school. I want to know what's' new with _you_." Kojirou emphasize, not wanting to get off the topic. Whatever it was, he was going to fish it out.

"Aha! I bet Syusuke-nii-san has a lover." Eiji pointed his chopsticks at Fuji enthusiastically.

"EH!?" The whole family yelled in surprise.

"Hey! I don't have a lover." Fuji pouted and stuffed rice into his mouth. "It's true." He nodded his head.

"Hmmm." Kojirou looked at Fuji skeptically.

"Moommy!" Akaya whined and pulled on Yoshiko's arm. "Syusuke-nii-san can't have a lover."

"But why not, dear?" Yoshiko asked softly and patted Akaya's head to make him sit still.

"Because if he has a lover, he won't spend time with me anymore." Akaya pouted. "That's why, Syusuke-nii-san cannot have a lover."

Fuji smiled amusingly. "Not ever?"

Akaya shook his head up and down vigorously. "Not ever."

They laughed at Akaya's innocence. Of course, he still couldn't grasp the idea that someday, Fuji will eventually be with his lover and Akaya with his.

"Then what is it? There must be something new. Maybe you got a raise?" Kojirou persisted on his suspicion.

Fuji grinned mysteriously. "Something like that."

Eiji gasped. "Honto-ni?" Eiji abandoned his dinner and ran over to glomp Fuji. "Syu-nii. There's this new flavored toothpaste in the market. Can I have it? Please! Please! Please!"

Fuji nodded and patted Eiji's head. "Yeah. I'll get it for you tomorrow."

Eiji jumped up and danced. "Yay!"

Yoshiko was happy for her son. "You shouldn't spoil your brothers too much, Syusuke."

Fuji shook his head."It's alright. I want to get everything for them."

Kojirou then smiled mischievously, taking advantage of what Fuji said.. "I've been wanting this MP3. Buy it for me?"

"Sure, just show it to me after dinner."

Kojirou did a happy dance in his spot.

"Eiji! Sit down and finish your food." Yoshiko chided softly.

"What about you, Akaya, what do you want?" Fuji asked the boy.

"I want Syusuke-nii-san to play with me forever." Apparently, he was still thinking about the lover issue while his other brothers were doing some weird dances.

"That's not possible, Akaya." Yoshiko told her son. "Someday, Syusuke will have to marry like Yumiko and Kuranosuke."

"But I don't want Syusuke-nii-san to go away." Akaya stubbornly said.

"He won't. He'll just be in a different house."

Akaya pouted and sulked. He didn't like what his mother was telling him.

Fuji put down his food. "Listen, Akaya." The boy looked up with sad eyes. "There's a new yogurt store just opened next to my workplace. How about I buy it for dessert tomorrow?"

The sad eyes immediately lit up. "Yogurt? Frozen Yogurt?"

Fuji nodded. "Yes, Frozen."

"Yay!" Akaya ran around the table and plopped down by Fuji's side, hugging Fuji's chest."I love you!"

Fuji snorted. "Do you only love me when I promise to buy you desert?"

Akaya widened his eyes and shook his head. "I love Syusuke-nii-san all the times."

"Really?" Fuji raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Akaya nodded. A little sweet could easily pacify him.

"Then finish dinner for me." Fuji reached over to get Akaya's bowl, handing to his brother along with the spoon. People always judged Akaya negatively when they went out, saying that he should grow up. But the thing is, although Akaya was in high school, his mind is still like a child. He had always been slow in his development. Akaya was put into a special ed program at school that was appropriate for his cognitive stage of development.

"Your father's birthday is coming up." Ayana and the family, without Kuniharu and Tezuka, sat together at the living room while waiting for the two to return from work.

Kuniharu didn't work anymore, but once in a while he visited their family company to see how it was progressing.

Ryoma had a laptop on his laps, typing furiously as he tried to finish an essay for his English class before dinner so he could sleep early.

"I remember." Yushi stopped flipping through a magazine and looked at her mother. "I think we should plan him a surprise party on our family yacht because we haven't had a family vacation in a while. We can also invite his friends on a 3 days cruise." She suggested.

"That's a good idea." Ayana smiled, nodding her head gently. "I've been wanting a family vacation."

"Me too, I'll plan everything, so you don't need to worry a thing. You just need to keep father busy." Yushi winked at her mother.

Ayana nodded, glad that Yushi will prepare everything. "But make sure Kunimitsu comes along for the whole 3 days."

"Oh I'll make sure he will." Yushi mused with mischief.

"I bet you he won't stay for the whole 3 days." Ryoma smirked.

"On what?" Yushi dared.

"On your _maquillage_." Ryoma stressed the French word. He knew his sister wouldn't last a day without make-up.

"Oh, you're on." Yushi challenged, narrowing her eyes. "If you lose, you're taking the public transportation for the whole week." She too knew how much Ryoma hated public transportation because she did too. It was utterly impossible to stay in a bus crowded with strangers for her. It only happened once when she got punished for staying out late in her high school year.

"And if you lose, you're going without make-up for the whole week." Ryoma closed his laptop and stood up.

Ayana sighed exasperatedly and stood up as well. "Children. Grow up." She was used to their childish bickering and didn't mean her words. In fact, she wanted them to act childish so they would stay with her longer. It was especially fun to see the oldest and youngest trying to embarrass each other. "I'm going to take a shower." She just wish they'd pull Tezuka in so she could see childhood in all three of her children.

"Me too!" Yushi declared and followed Ayana toward the staircase.

Ryomo looked at the two females of his family. "Che." And he too went to his room.

After Tezuka and his father got home, they ate dinner and everyone went to their respected rooms. Once Tezuka was done taking a shower, he came out from the bathroom and was a startled to see his sister sitting on the edge of his bed, leaning back slightly with a creepy smile adorning her face, one that told people she wanted something. She smiled when she noticed Tezuka was out.

"Hey."

Tezuka merely stared at her with his stoic face, not so sure what his sister wanted. He hoped she was not drunk because of the wine they had at dinner.

"Sit." Yushi sat straight up, tipping her head to the side in a carefree manner.

"What do you want?" Tezuka was skeptical, but he sat down at his desk anyways.

"You know that father's birthday is coming up soon, right?"

"Yeah." Tezuka sat back and turned his head to crack the joints in his neck.

"I think that we should have a 3-day cruise birthday party for him on the yacht that we bought a few years ago with his friends and us."

"That's fine." Tezuka took down his spectacles and used the fiber cloth on his desk to clean the lens.

Yushi sat in a moment of silent as she watched her brother. "You have to be there all 72 hours."

Tezuka immediately looked up and put his spectacles back on. "I can't."

"Yes, you can and you have to."

"I don't have to." Tezuka turned to his desk and opened his laptop. "I can just be there for some hours. There's no need for me to spend all 3 days on the yacht doing nothing."

"It's not doing _nothing_." Yushi reasoned. "Look at it on the bright side, we are going on a family vacation where we are spending time together. It's a family bonding time."

For a while, Tezuka didn't say anything.

Yushi continued to speak. "It's not like you have anything that is so important that needs you."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow and glanced and her. "All meetings are important."

"Oh come on. You can ask Kaido-kun to come in place for you, or that secretary. I'm sure either one of them can handle your meetings just fine. Besides, I'll also send out invitations to father's business partners, so you'll see most of your clients and business partners during the 3-day vacation anyways."

"That still does not explain why I have to be there for all 72 hours." Tezuka glared at her.

Yushi sighed. "Okay fine, there's really no reason why. I just want you to be there."

Tezuka turned back to his laptop. "48 hours." Tezuka bargained, hoping his sister would leave him alone now.

"No! It has to be 72." Yushi stubbornly argued, making Tezuka somewhat confused.

Tezuka looked at her for a while through his squinted eyes.

"What?"

"There's something suspicious about you."

Yushi chuckled lightly. "You're just over analyzing. Be a nice boss and let your employees have a 3-day vacation, invite them to the cruise. They'll be thankful to you."

Tezuka sighed. His sister really talked too much. If he never gave in, she would keep on pestering him, and he hated it when Yushi did that. "Whatever."

Yushi smiled widely like a Cheshire cat. "Good. By the way, we need servers for the party, so can you ask some your employees to do it for us? I'll pay them."

"Whatever." Tezuka murmured with no interest.

Yushi walked over to Tezuka's desk and patted his shoulder. "Thank you, my generous brother." She said affectionately before leaving his room.

Tezuka sighed again when Yushi disappeared from the corners of his eyes. He really didn't want to spend 3 whole days on the yacht.

TBC

**AN: **

Next chapter: Medley on the Yacht. Tezuka will notice Fuji Syuki for the first time!


	5. Chapter 5

TYPICAL ROMANCE - CHAPTER 5

The house was warm and quiet. The only light on came from the kitchen where Yoshiko was preparing breakfast for her husband before he would leave to set up the fish stall at the market.

When the hour and minute hands of the ticking clock on the wall landed at 6:13 A.M., Fuji stirred under the comforter that he shared with his youngest brother. He got up a few minutes after he was awake, carefully moving out under the comfortable to leave the warmth of the room. Eiji and Kochirou shared a comforter on the far right of the room, furthest away from the door. As quietly as possible, he got his clothes and made his way to the bathroom to get ready for his first day at his new job.

From inside the kitchen, the sounds of culinary echoed softly against the wall, but the padding sounds of footsteps were not particularly inaudible.

"Syusuke?" Yoshiko put the ladle down and turned the stove top to a low heat setting before peeking into the hall from the kitchen. Her children rarely got up at this time, but she had a faint idea of which of her children was willing to wake up this early.

Fuji poked his head from the bathroom in a semi-dressed state with a toothbrush in his mouth. "Yes, mom?"

"Are you feeling alright? You do not have to get up in at least an hour." She walked into the hallway and stood in front of the bathroom door. She was worried because Fuji had had strange aching symptoms with his stomach ever since she could remember.

"Don't worry mom. I feel fine. I just have a new job." He grinned as he brushed his teeth, spitting out the foam and rinsing his mouth before talking to his mother again. "It's further away and starts earlier, so I have to wake up earlier from now on."

"Ohh. Really?" Her smile widened with a hint of surprise and joy. She walked into the bathroom to hug him. "That's wonderful. Congratulations."

Fuji nodded with a smile. "Thank you. I just cannot believe it. Everything pays off."

Yoshiko pushed back and patted Fuji's cheek. "I'm so proud of you. Every little thing that you do makes me very happy. But anyhow, I'll go and make breakfast for you right now. Should I pack lunch for you too?"

"Only if that's not inconvenient for you."

"Of course not." She smiled teasingly before turning and walking back to the kitchen.

After Fuji was done, he left his house, bringing with him the pre-packed lunch. He took the bus like every day, but his first destination now changed to Yumiko's house. Starting today, he had a new identity, and no one would know that besides his sister and her husband, and maybe Niou, since he needed someone to watch out for him if a state of emergency suddenly arises.

It was near a quarter after 7 when he arrived at Yumiko's house. Her husband had already left for work. She was roaming in her closet when Fuji came, so he began trying on various outfits before they both came to an agreeing one. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, the sight of him in woman's clothing was nothing near comfortable and prideful, but because it was necessary for work, he would have to endure it, since the main reason was to earn big bucks. He felt a bit shameful every time he thought of the second main reason why he was in woman's clothes, which was somehow related to the big boss of Tez Co.

"Can you not make it so dark? It's not natural." Fuji asked when he saw his sister holding up the brush and the blush powder.

"Okay, but it doesn't really matter anyways. Females generally have their cheeks 2 shades darker than this." Yumiko lightly brush Fuji's cheeks.

"Well, I'm not a female." Fuji looked closer at his image reflected in the mirror and he slowly smile. "I look beautiful."

Yumiko giggled. "Who said you don't. Since yesterday, Sasuke's been thinking that you've turned into a woman for real. He kept on insisting that he should have drove you home in case someone molests you on the bus."

Fuji laughed softly. "He can be so comical sometimes."

"Dorky, I say." Yumiko smiled into the mirror while examine her work. "How's that?"

Fuji smiled. "Perfect."

"Should I put on some eyeliner?" Yumiko thought aloud while putting purple eyeshadow on his lids.

"Why not?" Fuji tilted his face a little to look in the mirror.

"You barely leave your eyes wide open, so I don't really see the point in putting eyeliner on. Afterall, the point of having eyeliner is to make your eyes seem big."

Fuji shrugged slightly. "I don't really care. Just make me look somewhat...feminine."

Yumiko pulled away and pouted. "I might better off doing nothing to you then."

"Hey!" Fuji shouted with a bit of frustration. How dare his sister hint him being feminine?

"Kidding. Kidding." Yumiko chuckled and resumed with the maquillage. "I think I should get paid for this, for being your personal make-up artist."

Fuji lifted an eyebrow upward. "Only if you do a good job, otherwise, I might charge you."

"Oy!" She smacked his shoulder. "You cheap drag queen!"

"Ow! What was that for?" Fuji puffed his cheeks.

After the complete transformation, Yumiko finally drove her brother to the company. From the corners of her eyes, she could see that Fuji was picking on the V-neck blouse with amusement. "Stop that!" Yumiko slapped Fuji's arm with her right hand.

"Why?" Fuji smiled mischievously.

"Well, just stop giving your bosom such uncharacteristic attention. Girls don't do that." Yumiko spared him a glance before focusing on the road.

"But it's interesting. You know, it looks very real and feels very real too."

Yumiko sighed almost exasperatedly. "Of course it looks real. Otherwise, you would be wearing high collar shirts."

"True." Fuji's curiosity went out the window, and he sat up while straightening out his garment.

"You know what? It seems to me like I'm the in-law, and not Sasuke. He even did the liberty to remind me to drive you to work before he went to work." Yumiko pouted jokingly as she took a turn into the drive way of the company.

Fuji chuckled. "I guess now I'm his little sister and your little brother."

Yumiko smiled as she stepped on the break. "Ok, little sister, we're here. Good luck on your first day."

Fuji took off the belt and opened the door, not forgetting to throw his sister a thankful smile. "Thank you nee-san."

"Wait!"

Fuji bent down to look at Yumiko inside the car. "Yeah?"

"Give me a hug." Yumiko said happily with her arms outstretched.

Fuji sighed before hesitantly leaned in to hug her.

Yumiko patted Fuji's back and pulled back. "You're welcome. Bring him home." She winked.

Fuji snorted and closed the door. "I'll bring money home first." He mumbled and adjusted his female clothes before taking the steps up toward the building.

There were many people in the lounge, either waiting for the elevators or conversing with their colleagues from different division. He had never worked in a big company before and the overwhelming number of people gave him a new excited feeling.

Fuji looked around and found the door that led to the staircase fully ajar, but no one would sacrifice morning sweat to take it.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice approaching behind him. Fuji turned his head to the side in time to see Niou and another man talking as they walked together toward the elevator. By the facial expression and formality in Niou's language, Fuji figured that Niou was discussing work matter. It surprised him that Niou had changed into a professional speaker for just being in this company. He remembered baker Niou was a delinquent speaker. Fuji was amazed as he continued to look at Niou.

In the midst of discussing his day's schedule, Niou stopped talking and looked up from the agenda.

"Something wrong?" Niou's assistant asked.

Niou frowned. "I have a feeling that someone's watching us."

The assistant curiously looked past Niou and saw a lady smiling at them. He instantly blushed and that made Niou aware.

"What?"

The assistant flicked his eyes to Fuji's direction, indicating for Niou to turn around.

Fuji, being his blunt self, smiled and waved when Niou landed his eyes on the female.

Niou blinked and rubbed his eyes unbelievingly. "Did she just waved to me?"

The assistant raised an eyebrow at Niou. "Do you happen to know her?"

Niou tilted his head to the side to look at his assistant. "Why? You like her?"

"W-what?"

Niou laughed. "You stuttered."

The man huffed and changed the topic. "Aren't you going to talk to her? She seems to be waiting for you."

Niou looked back at Fuji with a satisfied smile. "Waiting for me eh? Told you I'm good looking." He fixed his tie and walked over to Fuji with a big confident grin.

Fuji snorted faintly at the pompous way Niou was approaching him. "Does he think that I'm interested in him?" He crossed his arms and waited.

"Good morning, beautiful." Niou stopped in front of Fuji and put his hands in his pant pockets looking suave.

Fuji smiled. "Hi handsome."

The people around him whistled, fueling Niou's pride. "I've never seen you in this company before. Are you a rookie?"

Fuji leaned back and entwined his hands at the back. "Yes, I am. Today is my first day actually."

"Ah, wonderful. Welcome to Tez Co, where the best bachelors reside."

Fuji chuckled softly, making Niou's smile widened, thinking that he successfully made Fuji chuckled. "I can clearly see that."

"Say, what division are you in? I can walk you there." Niou offered gentlemanly.

"That is quite alright. I do not want to interfere with your agenda, and I know my way up."

"You are certainly not interfering anything, and I insist."

Fuji shrugged. "If you insist."

"Of course." Niou stepped to the side beside Fuji and stretched out his arm. "You first."

Fuji nodded and walked toward the elevator with Niou walking on his right.

"I work for Aoki-san in the finance department." Fuji supplied.

"Really?" Niou looked at bit surprise, but soon resumed to smile his playboy smile. "That chick gets on my nerve."

Fuji raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well, there are a few reasons why, but our first meeting was not I anticipated."

"If you don't mind, I would like to know. I hope to learn more about my new boss."

Niou chuckled. "I guess I can give you that." He rubbed his chin with an amuse smile. "Well…she can be _very_ conceited and unpleasant at times."

Fuji smiled in amusement. "_Very_, you say?"

Niou gave Fuji an eye smile.

"Maybe the word 'bitch' is better, don't you think?"

Niou stopped midstep, apparently stunned by what Fuji said because Fuji amazingly read his mind. He licked his lips nervously. "What do you mean?" Sure, he used to cuss people out, but not anymore. He was a professional now.

Fuji entered the elevator with three other people. "Hmm…I was sure that was on your mind"

Niou was stunned and not sure what he should say.

"I'm surprised." Fuji leaned over and whispered to Niou. "Cussing made up half of your vocabulary when you were still working at your previous job. Maybe you forgot about that one time when you cussed at a mid 40 woman for being a bit indecisive?" He pulled back and smiled innocently at Niou.

"I don't—wait. What!" Niou widened his eyes at the calmly smiling Fuji. No one knew that except for him, the customer, and Fuji, unless the customer...Niou did a double take and surveyed Fuji up and down. He gapped in realization. _Fuji_! The girl looked like Fuji, the smile, the eyes, the hair. "You!" he shouted, surprising the other occupants. They threw him annoyed glances.

"Me what?" Fuji swayed innocently.

Niou opened and closed his mouth speechlessly. "Y-you're a pretty girl!" He pointed a finger at Fuji, not knowing what to say except for what had escaped his big mouth.

Now that must be the most stupid thing that he had ever said. Fuji frowned and kicked Niou.

"Stupid!"

"Hey, that was rude." An occupant spoke up for Fuji.

"That's no way to treat a lady!"

"In the early morning too!"

Thus, inside the elevator until Fuji's floor, Niou was bashed with criticism on his rude behavior toward a beautiful single woman and Fuji enjoyed his elevator ride on the side.

Niou stepped out with a disgruntled frown, following Fuji.

"Why are you following me?"

That broke Niou's trance of frustration and he looked up at Fuji, suddenly remembered the source of his current frustration. "You! What are you doing here?..." He pointed at Fuji. "...in that outfit?"

"Do you want to die?" Fuji hissed and crossed his arms. "Keep your voice down." The last thing he wanted was for his boss to nag at him on the first day for creating a commotion.

Niou got taken back, and dragged Fuji through the door where the lonely staircase lied. "I want an explanation." Niou demanded in a calmer voice.

"I still haven't hit you for not telling me that they only hired females last time. You made me go all the way here for nothing." Fuji glared, flinching Niou.

"Oh that." Niou laughed nervously, scratching his head. "Sorry, but at least you got a job."

"Yeah, a job under that _chick_."

"Oh sorry." Niou smiled nervously. He thought he had the table turned around, but apparently Fuji was too witty.

"Anyways, I just want to let you know that I'm working here, in female clothing, walking around in painful clicking heels, and killing my man pride as of today."

Niou instantly knew where Fuji was going. "I'll treat you to lunch."

Fuji smiled widely. "Can I take a rain check? My mom packed me lunch today."

"Sure, buddy." Niou patted Fuji's head. "Or should I call you something else? What's your name, by the way?"

"Fuji Syuski. Call me Fuji like you always do because I didn't change my last name."

"Cool. Then, no hard feeling about earlier, kay?"

"Sure, whatever you say." Fuji smiled before re-entering through the door.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aoki was sitting in front of her laptop—typing and talking on her business land phone at the same time—and looked up at Fuji for a second as he entered before gluing her eyes back at the LCD. Fuji quietly closed the door and came closer to her desk.

"Ah~ Good morning, Fuji-chan." To Fuji's surprise, Aoki greeted him with a friendly smile. It must be the phone call.

"Good Morning, Aoki-san." Fuji greeted back with a smile, thinking maybe Aoki was not bad at all.

"You are..." Aoki looked at the small expensive wristwatch on her wrist with a click of her tongue. "On time." She smiled and looked up.

"Aoki-san said it is important to show up on time on the first day." Fuji humbly responded.

"Ah~" Aoki nodded in satisfaction, and stood up to walk around her desk, steering Fuji out of the room. "Since today is your first day working in this division, I will introduce you to our wonderful staff."

Fuji liked that. He liked working in an environment that he knew everyone because it made his job so much easier and enjoying. "Thank you. I appreciate it very much."

Aoki waved a dismissal. "It's my pleasure." They stood in front of her office door and Aoki called everyone over with her authoritative voice and a clap. "Gather around, ladies."

Fuji cringed when he saw women as young as him to the mid 40s crowding around. If he had claustrophobic, this would be it because women were walling in on him.

"Oh my gosh, she's so cute!" A hyperactive woman started to pinch his lightly powdered cheeks, and another touched his hands.

"Ooo, is she the new addition?"

"She has got to be definitely the cutest person ever. How old are you honey?"

"Oh, why ask? She looks like a 21 years old."

Fuji blinked, overwhelmed, and automatically responded. "er...26?"

"Not so close, ladies." Aoki waved everyone back and pulled Fuji closer to her. "Move back a foot or two."

When the women backed off, Aoki started the introduction. "Everyone, this is Fuji Syuki. She's my new assistance as of today."

"Welcome to Tez Co. Fuji-chan~" They hollered in unison, and Aoki smiled satisfactorily.

"Well then. I should make a few points clear to everyone." Aoki held up her index finger. "One, Fuji-chan works for me, and only for me. Got it?" The women nodded their heads. "That means no one can give her assignments beside me." She flipped up a middle finger. "Two, any clients who want to meet me must go through her first before they get to me. So," She looked at the pregnant secretary. "Hira-san, please direct phone calls to Fuji-chan from now on." She looked back at the crowd when the secretary nodded. "And three, I will be giving announcements through Fuji-chan, so please listen to her when she is given something important to say, alright everyone?"

"Yes, Aoki-san!" The women said with merry.

From then to lunch time, Fuji was busy typing up records into the laptop given to him at his temporary desk. He had not been standing up for the past few hours and he was sure that his glutes were getting a ring of callus from sitting. Every quarter of an hour, he would glance at his boss's desk, where she could not warm her chair for every half an hour walking in and out of the office with the Bluetooth attached to her right ear.

"Fuji!"

The urgent voice of his boss made him turn to the door where she already stood with her purse.

"Yes, Aoki-san?"

"I'm going to be out for a while. It's lunch time, so take an hour break, and after that, contact Ryuzaki to confirm the meeting time and place with Tez Co.'s stakeholders tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am."

Aoki smiled and left.

Only then could Fuji release a long sigh from the fatigue that was invading his body. "This is not what I expected." Fuji muttered to himself and stood up to stretch. "I'd rather walk around than to sit for 4 hours straight."

"Glad that was over." Fuji smiled brightly before going out to take a bathroom break, but it instantly faded when he stood in front of the bathroom door looking dumbfounded.

Two women, both looking professionally sleek in their charcoal black suits walked out. "Oh. Hello, Fuji-chan!"

"Hello." Fuji returned the greeting meekly.

"Why are you standing out here? Do you need to use the restroom?"

"It's free to use."

Fuji laughed softly. "Yes, I know."

"Mkay, would you like to have lunch with us down at the canteen? We can wait for you." They offered.

"I would love to, but I have to decline. I have a lot tasks to complete for today."

"Oh. Alright, but don't forget to eat, okay?"

Fuji nodded. He waited until the women left through the elevators before looking around to see if anyone was still there.

"Clear." Quickly, he went into the restroom to do his business.

Once he was done, he came back to the office and got his lunch pack from under the desk. For half an hour, he ate his lunch and relaxed on the sofa in the room before resuming the unfinished work.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was 5 P.M. when Aoki told him that he could go home. Although, he did find it strange that his job has not been completed for the day, yet he got to leave early.

"Are you sure, Aoki-san?"

"Definitely." Aoki smiled as she organized her desk. "I have a meeting to attend right now and you can continue what is left for tomorrow. Now go home and take the rest of the day off."

"Okay." Fuji nodded and grabbed his belongings. "Thank you and see you tomorrow, Aoki-san."

"Don't mention it, see you tomorrow."

After Fuji left, Aoki got out a hand mirror from the draw in her desk. As she looked at her reflection, she pursed her lips and applied on a wine color lipstick followed by lip-gloss. A few puckers of her lips, she smiled and put the mirror back where it belong and left the room.

Coincidentally, when the elevator opened before her, she was met with Tezuka and his secretary. Her eyes lit up and her lips curved pleasantly upward. "Mr. President."

Tezuka nodded in recognition and moved a step to the side.

"Hello, Aoki-san." Ryuzaki greeted and moved closer to Tezuka to give space for Aoki to step in.

Aoki's smile dropped by a millimeter as she looked at Ryuzaki's movement to the left where Tezuka stood. "Hello." She was not sure if Ryuzaki intentionally moved closer to Tezuka to stand in between the President and herself or if it was common courtesy, but she let it slide for now.

"Today is Fuji-chan's first day." Ryuzaki started a conversation, attempting to break the luminous silence. "How did she do?"

Aoki smiled and turned to look at Ryuzaki. "She's a great help. I didn't get to thank you for appointing her to be my personal assistant." She was about to continue when Tezuka's cell phone vibrated.

"Excuse me." Tezuka said before answering his cell phone.

The two women stayed silent while Tezuka was on the phone.

"Atobe." Tezuka sighed and rubbed his nose.

Ryuzaki looked pitifully at her boss for she knew Atobe could be a pain in the ass sometimes. Aoki chuckled quietly to herself as she stole amorous glances at the young president. The sight of a semi-frustrated Tezuka was somewhat…cute.

After a few grunts, Tezuka closed his eyes. "I have to go. Bye." The elevator stopped just in time. Tezuka turned to the ladies and urged them to leave the cubicle before he came out.

"Tezuka-san." Kaido was waiting for Tezuka in front of the meeting room. "Everyone is waiting for you inside."

Tezuka grunted and entered the room.

"Thank you everyone for being on time and I apologize for my tardiness." Tezuka bowed and took his seat.

"That's alright. Tezuka-san." One of the men said and smiled. "It is truly understandable that you were meeting with an important client before coming here."

Tezuka nodded with a small smile.

Kaido looked at the man. "Don't forget Itachi-san. All clients are equally important."

The man chuckled. "Of course. Kaido-kun."

Tezuka looked up from the folder and tapped his pen on the lamented table. "Before we go into the monthly reports, I am going to make an announcement."

"Good news I hope, Tezuka-san." The Chief Customer Director spoke in a light humorous tone. He was known to have a bubbly and easy-to-get-along personality; hence the reason why he was selected for his title.

Tezuka thinned his lips. "I'm not sure." Truth was, he found it stressful to shut down the company for a few days because then the work after the vacation would pile up 3 times more. Besides, he was already used to his current lifestyle. Three days without being at work put him in a very strange environment.

Kaido and mostly everyone present in the room frowned. They certainly did not like bad news. But then again, even a minimal problem could turn into a big problem for their boss because Tezuka was always a work-oriented person. He took _everything_ seriously.

"I highly doubt that whatever you will announce is a bad news because our company has been doing very well. It takes a lot to bring us down. Right, Tezuka-san?" Niou said with confidence and that made Tezuka smiled. "So, tell us the good news, Tezuka-san."

Tezuka grunted. "I believe everyone knows that my father's 50th birthday anniversary is coming soon." Everyone nodded and Tezuka leaned back a little. "My sister is planning to celebrate his birthday on our family yacht for three days straight, and of course, every employee is invited to attend the whole three days cruise."

At that, the members became elated with wide smiles.

"That means our company will have to be closed for three days." Kaido commented.

"That's correct." Tezuka affirmed.

"A three-day vacation sounds nice."

Tezuka mentally sighed. _I guess no one objects._ He adjusted the glasses on his nose. He actually hoped at least one person would somehow object and put work before fun. "And also, my sister wants to recruit about 50 staff from our company to work during the vacation. The salary will be paid by her and she will give out further instructions. So, is there anyone who wants to volunteer to find these 50 individuals who want to earn extra while on vacation?"

"I think Aoki-san would be a suitable candidate, right Aoki-san?" Ryuzaki immediately proffered with a smile to Aoki.

Aoki looked surprise for a bit before regaining her composure and smiled. "Yes, I think so too, since I know a handful of those who would want this opportunity to earn extra."

Tezuka nodded at Aoki. "It's settled then. Thank you Aoki-san." He averted his gaze to others. "Then I can also presume that everyone will attend to this event."

Everyone affirmed almost too quickly.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Like yesterday, there was traffic in the elevator and no one bothered to take the stairs. They would rather be late since the time on Fuji's wristwatch was 1 minute until 8.

Fuji hurried across the floor toward the awaiting door to the staircase.

Because he was in a hurried, he turned at the door too fast and collided into another who was going down the stairs at the same speed. The other caught Fuji while maneuvering against the wall to keep balance.

"Oof!" Fuji's face crashed into a hard, yet soft chest. He winced.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It just happened so that after he arrived at his office the next day, Ryoma called him and said he was in the university infirmary. Judging from the time, the elevators would be crowded, so he decided the staircase would currently be the best resolution.

He was on the last step when a fuzzy shadow came flying into the door. Before he could utter a warning, both of their bodies crashed into each other. On autopilot, Tezuka steered them, with his back, to the wall. In a second, Tezuka heard a voice when the forehead of the person hit against his sternum.

At the same time, Tezuka could feel the person's bosoms at his upper abdomen, now knowing that person was a female.

"Are you alright?" Tezuka held onto the girl's arms and pushed her from him. Truthfully, having a girl too closed to his body made him extremely uncomfortable.

The girl slowly looked up while rubbing her forehead.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Fuji muttered while looking up. "I'm okay." His forehead hurt. "Thank-" His word froze and he gaped, recognizing the person he crashed into was the company's President. "I-I'm sorry." His eyes instantly averted to the ground as he flushed red.

For a moment there, something about the girl made Tezuka curious. He tilted his head slightly to the side in attempt to look at her face closer. "It's alright, but…have we met before?" She looked strangely familiar to him.

Fuji took a step back and shook his head. "No." He lied. Inside, his heart beat rapidly. If he said yes, then Tezuka would probe further, and he absolutely would not want that to happen.

Tezuka grunted with a nod, but seemingly not too convinced. "I see, my mistake."

"If…" Fuji looked up. "If there's nothing else, then…"

Tezuka understood. "Then I wouldn't want to keep you any longer."

"Thank you, Tezuka-san." Fuji bowed before leaving as quickly as possible up the stairs.

Standing there as he looked at Fuji moving up and out of sight, he felt a strange feeling stirring within him, so foreign that he couldn't explain what it was. _I feel as if we have met before…_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tezuka sighed and stepped on the gas pedal.

Ryoma threw Tezuka a glance. He knew his brother was angry and Tezuka was rarely angry. Unluckily, he was the reason why his brother was driving him home at this moment.

He stayed silent on the way home. He knew he would get an earful from either his mother or sister once they arrived home.

"We're home." Tezuka announced tersely as he pulled the car in front of their home's driveway.

Ryoma opened his eyes from his short nap, yawning. "Mhm." He took off the seatbelt and got out of the car, throwing a look at his brother over his shoulder. "Are you coming in?"

"I'll see you later after work." With that, Tezuka drove out the driveway, leaving Ryoma to sigh defeated.

"Young master." The butler greeted at the door, closing it after Ryoma walked in. "The young miss and your mother are promptly waiting for you in the living room."

Ryoma nodded and sighed once again, tousling his hair.

"I'm home." He said, opening the door to the living room and walking in.

His mother and sister were sitting next to each other on the sofa sipping tea and exchanging some dialogues.

"Come here." Ayana waved him over to her other side on the sofa. Her face held no smile.

Once he sat down, his mother turned and regarded the purple bruise on his right cheek. She blinked, expecting some explanations. "What happened?"

Ryoma sighed exasperatedly with irritation. He didn't really want to hear his mother lecturing him right now when he was in a bad mood. Plus, his cheek felt sore, and he didn't want to move his facial muscle to talk.

"What happened to your face?" Yuushi commented off handedly with an eyebrow raised, making Ryoma growled.

"Don't you have anything else to do than sit here?" He countered.

Yuushi smirked, knowing what would come next.

"And you, didn't you have anything better to do than getting into a fight at school?" His mother began in a high tone. "Did I teach you to be violent?"

Ryoma huffed irritatingly and stood up. He didn't know why, but lately, he got easily annoyed when anyone tried to probe into his school life and friends.

"What happened?" Ayana demanded, looking at her youngest with seriousness.

"It wasn't my fault." He stated ignorantly and crossed his arms.

"Mother asked you what happened. Just answer the question." Yuushi said, earning a glare from her brother.

Ayana stood up and crossed her arms. "I heard from the Chairman. Now, I want to hear your side of the story."

"Go on. I'm listening." Ayana's voice became calmer and she smiled, and Ryoma knew it wasn't that kind of smile that he would get when he made his mother happy.

"A fuckin-"

Ayana cleared her throat. "Language." She reminded him.

"A kid-"

This time, his sister interrupted him. "How old is he?"

Ryoma glowered at Yuushi and mumbled. "I don't know."

Yuushi released a soft 'oh' and sipped her tea.

"He bumped into me at the hall entrance. Long story short, he threw his coffee on me." Ryoma crossed his arms with a growl. The recollection pissed him off.

Ayana raised her eyebrow. "And then?"

"I called him low-life and he punched me." Ryoma ended.

Ayana frowned in surprise, disappointment, and frustration. "Why did you do that?"

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "That's because he is one. Judging by the clothes he wore, anyone could tell he lives in the slum part of the city. He should have just stayed home and sold fish with his parents at the market. Why bother going to school when he can't even afford to join a club. Who does he think he is, playing tennis freely on our club's tennis court? His coffee stinks as much as the fishy smell on him. I mean, who runs around with a plastic cup of coffee. Hasn't he ever heard of Starbucks? I only said that to him and he started to hit me." He then mumbled. "What an ass."

"Ryoma." Ayana warned in a low voice, flinching Ryoma. She was extremely disappointed. Her sweet youngest child had suddenly changed into a rash and an unruly boy without her knowing anything about it, and now this happened.

"He poured the whole cup of coffee on me." Ryoma gritted his teeth as he reasoned. "They have a tumbler now."

Ayana sighed.

"I told you, mother. He's never going to learn to stop being a cocky." Yuushi looked at her brother with sincerity. "He needs to learn. The damage on his face serves him right."

"Ryoma." Ayana could only sigh in defeat. "Go to your room."

Without another word, he left the room with a loud slam of the door.

Ayana fumed at the sound and put her hands on her hips. "I don't understand. He was the same sweet and innocent boy a few days ago. How could he change in such a short period of time?" She looked over at her daughter. "I know he's slightly conceited, but that is normal for him."

"You mean the rich boy complex?" Yuushi added.

Ayana seemingly to avoid that comment and continued. "It is different this time. Did you hear what he said? I never taught him such profanity!"

"Disrespectful." Yuushi smiled.

Ayana sighed exasperatedly at her daughter. "This is serious, Yuushi." Her daughter looked too much relaxing to her liking.

"I didn't say it wasn't."

Ayana looked at her daughter with a small disapproving gaze. "And how do you expect your brother to fare better when you have the same rich kid symptom as you do?"

Yuushi plainly smiled and stood up. "Okaa-san, please don't compare me to him."

Ayana frowned and turned to walk out the door. "I cannot believe this is happening. Maybe I should keep him home-schooled from now on."

Yuushi shook her head. She walked up to her mother and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, mother. It is not a big deal. It's college. It may not seem like it, but I care about him too; and I must admit, his behavior just now was very unexpected and I think something is not right. I will keep a tight eye on him. Just leave everything to me."

Ayana sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I hope you are right."

Yuushi smiled cheekily. "Of course. I am always right."

Ayana shook her head. _Both brother and sister are the same. _

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"3 days?" Fuji blinked as he stood in front of Aoki's desk the next day at work.

His boss nodded. "It's a good opportunity. You get pay _and_ spend time on a yacht. Believe me, not many people has the chance to ever spend an hour on something as luxurious as the Tezuka's yacht."

Fuji understood that even though the president invited all employees to the event, only those who held higher positions would actually go.

"Moreover, it is the President's sister who will be handling this, and from the rumors that I've heard, she is _very_ generous." Aoki emphasized with the twinkles in her eyes.

Fuji thought about it. It sounded pretty good, since he would get to experience what a cruise is like. Plus, he would be working for extra money, so why not? "I'll do it." He declared with a positive smile.

"Great! I'll put your name on the list." Aoki clapped her hands together before writing Fuji's name on a paper. "And when the event comes near, I'll let you know what you have to do."

Fuji nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Aoki-san."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Okaa-san!" Fuji pushed through the door to step into the front yard of his home, then closing it behind him. "I'm home."

It just turned dark. Inside the kitchen at the side of the main house, he could hear clonking of pots and pans as his mom cooked dinner. He immediately headed there. "Mom, I'm home." He declared once again as he stood at the entrance.

His mother looked over her shoulder. "Oh Syusuke. When did you get home?" She smiled before returning to the stove.

"I just got home." Fuji walked over to the sink and washed his hands, not forgetting to pull up his long sleeves. "What are you making for dinner?"

"Nothing too fancy." She said while stirring the pot. "Sour catfish hotpot."

"Mmm~" Fuji made a satisfying noise. "Sounds tasty and smells delicious." He came to stand by his mother's side. "Can I help?"

"Sure, you can put the vegetables on the plates and then set the table." She instructed him.

"Alright."

"Ne, Syusuke."

"Hm?"

"How is this new job you're working at? It is an accounting job right?"

Fuji jumped invisibly. He had to lie to his mom. "Yeah." He started out with an even voice.

"It must come easy for you then, since you have all the knowledge from your study."

"Something like that." He then remembered about the offer from Aoki. "Hey, mom."

"Yes?" Yoshiko finished with the hotpot, turning off the stove. She walked over to the cupboard to get out a stone pot to pour the soup into it.

"In three weeks, I'm going to be away from home for three days."

Ayana turned to look at Fuji as he got out small bowls. "Three days? Where are you going?"

Fuji smiled. "A part time job."

"A part time job that is only three days?" His mother commented, looking slightly confused.

"Yeah. I'm hired to be a worker on a cruise." He grinned. "It doesn't hurt to earn extra."

His mother then smiled widely. "This is so exciting. First, you got a new and better job, and now, you get to go on a cruise making more money at the same time."

Fuji laughed softly at his mother's enthusiasm. "Mhmh. Isn't it great?"

"Just wonderful!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When Tezuka was down and ready to leave the house, he called for his brother. Unfortunately, he returned late last night, so he didn't get to talk to his brother. Work had been busy and kept him from home matters.

"You can go first, I'll take Ryoma to school." Yushi suddenly appeared around the corner and told him.

Tezuka looked at Yushi with concern. "Did something major happened?" He felt somewhat guilty for not having enough time to keep on his family's activities lately. However, he was thankful that his sister took the duty to run the household so diligently.

Yushi smiled calmly. "You don't need to worry about it. I'll take care of everything."

Tezuka looked to the floor before nodding. "Alright. Tell me when you have something figured out."

Yushi nodded. "Sure."

Tezuka opened the door and left.

Her gaze turned to the staircase and she waited for Ryoma to come down. In a minute, he stood at the staircase. "Where's Nii-san?"

"I sent him off. I'll take you to school."

Ryoma gave her a skeptical look. "Why?"

Yushi merely smiled. "Why not?"

Ryoma narrowed his eyes before receding.

"I'll wait for you in the car. Come out when you're ready." Yushi patted his shoulder before going out the door.

After dropping Ryoma off at the front gate of the University, she waited inside her car at the parking across the street.

Even though they always argue, their arguments were not serious enough to damage their family relationship. Honestly, she knew her brother very well, even Tezuka. She knew each of their personality since they were born. As the eldest child, she has the responsibility to look after each of her brother's affair to ensure their happiness and health.

For Ryoma, he was easily swayed by people who he has authority over him. Knowing that, Yushi had thought about it last night. There are a few who could change Ryoma's behavior. Since the predicament happened at school, then the person/people who caused the change would also be in school.

She got out her car and walked across the street to enter the university. She graduated from the same university a couple of years back, so she still remembered the campus pretty well. Moving around, she finally got to Ryoma's class. Surely, her brother was in there.

She waited outside in the corridor until the class ended. Students filed out the room and crowded the corridor. Thanks to her height, she could she Ryoma leaving the room in the opposite direction. She followed him until she came to a secluded part of the university behind the cafeteria.

It didn't come as a surprise to her when she saw Ryoma joining a group of delinquent smokers in the area.

Ryoma gave them hi-fi's as he got nearer.

She had suspected that Ryoma was outsourcing with the wrong group of peers.

Ryoma didn't smoke, but from where Yushi was standing, she could see that Ryoma was adopting his friends' behaviors.

She walked away and fished out her cell phone, dialing Ryoma's number.

"Where are you?" She spoke into the receiver.

"School."

"In class?"

"No."

"Then, when is your next class?"

"In two hours."

"Mhm. I'm in front. Come out. I'll take you to lunch."

She could hear disagreement in the background. It sounded like his friends were trying to persuade him to stay and hang out with them.

"…**Do I need to**?" Ryoma voiced out hesitantly.

"It is important." She told him in a voice that reflected the message.

"…" She waited.

"Fine."

She took him to a high-class American restaurant near Tezuka's workplace. The restaurant is owned by a friend of Yushi. Since it is always busy, it was hard for Ryoma to get a seat unless he is with his sister, and he loved the food here. "It has been a while since I took you here."

Ryoma smiled as he looked at the menu that he loved. "Yeah. I want this, this, and this." He pointed to the items to the waiter.

Yuushi ordered a cocktail and a small fish base entrée.

"Let's talk about you." She decided to start a conversation while waiting for their order.

The delighted smile on Ryoma's face turned into a skeptical one. "Why?" Hamburger was forgotten.

Yuushi shrugged. "There's nothing interesting about me. I stay home all day. What more do you want to know?"

Ryoma kept quiet and stared off into space.

"How is college going so far? I heard a handful of your old friends relocated."

The tired sigh came from Ryoma came to Yushi as a realization that he knew where she was going.

"You're asking about my friends?"

"Perhaps." Yushi said simply without a smile. "We don't know what your life is outside of home anymore, because you're in college now. We could only monitor your peers in grade school. Now, it is your choice who you choose to befriended, but you're making everyone worried about your behavior lately."

Ryoma frowned and glared at his sister as if she had offended him. "You followed me." He stated, knowing fully the meaning behind her beat-around-the-bush words.

Yushi held his glare evenly. "What if I did?" She wasn't afraid of him.

Ryoma immediately pushed himself up with a slam of his palms to the table angrily, making other people to look at them. "The fuck! You followed me? Who told you to?" He considered this act of spying on his school life is a breach of privacy.

From the corners of Yushi's eyes, she could see her friend apologizing to the customers about the commotion her brother was causing. She looked directly up into Ryoma's eyes disapprovingly. "Sit down." She commanded in a low voice.

Ryoma looked around before letting out a sigh of irritation and sitting down roughly.

"What's wrong with you lately?" She began when both calmed down a bit. "I can't remember hearing this from you. Where did you learn these things?"

Ryoma kept quiet and looked sideway to the floor.

"Maybe you've grown up and this is how it is, but you should consider about our parents' feelings when you being brash. Because you're the youngest, they spoil you, getting you whatever you want to make you happy. They did everything to prevent you from being sad and lacking. Part of growing up is growing out of your egocentrism. You need to look at things from different points of view to understand and empathize those who are involved. It is breaking out of your selfishness and thinking about others."

Yushi sighed and raked a hand through her hair with minimal frustration. "We are raised in a proper family with proper etiquettes, and the most important moral lesson that Mother taught all of us is not to defile others just because they don't have as much as we do."

At that, Ryoma turned his gaze to look at his sister.

She softened her eyes. "I know you're not like this, and I just want to know what is going on that made you like this. You can always come to me if you cannot go to anyone else. I'm your sister, Ryoma. I _care_ about you."

Ryoma looked away to avoid his sister's eyes as the guilt built up within him. Maybe he was too carried away with his new peers. Originally, he had only wanted to hang out with different groups of people to open a broad communication line and experience for his future profession. However, the endeavors of his current peers have influenced his behaviors stronger than he thought, and he had fallen unfavorably. "What do you want me to do then?"

He had been around his peers more than around his family, so he momentarily forgot the etiquettes his family taught him and adopted something else hostile. Now that his sister finally approached him with this issue, he had a chance to reflect his past behaviors.

"Reflect on who you are and decide where you belong."

The drinks then came out.

"I'll think about it." He replied.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was a tiring day for Fuji, by the time he got home, his back, rear, arms, neck, and shoulders muscles ached like hell. There was so much work to do, yet so little time. By the time he knew it, it was dark, and he hadn't finished everything yet, even though he stayed an hour extra after Aoki left.

On his watch, it was almost 10 and the house was somewhat quiet. The light in the dining room wasn't on, but all of the bedrooms' lights were.

From inside her room, Yoshiko heard the front gate to their home opened and she knew Fuji was home, so she left the room with a thin jacket wrapped around her body.

"Mom." Yoshiko surprised Fuji by opening the same door at the same time. She smiled and ushered him in.

"Welcome home, Syusuke." She looked at her son's face and saw tired lines sketched at the corners of his eyes. "You must be tired. I'll heat up dinner while you go shower and change your clothes."

Too tired to denied the offer, as he didn't want to bother his mom, he nodded. "Thank you."

His mom gave him an understanding smile before leaving the house to go to the kitchen.

After showering, he went to the kitchen to see his mom sitting at the table waiting for him to show up. Her face showed a tint of sadness as she breathed slowly.

"I can eat by myself. Why don't you go to sleep early? You also had a long day." Fuji smiled as he sat down across from his mom.

Yoshiko nodded with a small smiled. "I'm not that tired."

Fuji smiled back at her before beginning to eat.

He ate in silence. As a minute passed, he felt something was wrong with his mom. He tentatively looked up at her, who was staring blankly at the table. "Mom."

"Hmh?" She looked up.

"Is something wrong?"

"…" She pressed her lips thin and fidgeted her hands on the table.

Fuji looked at her closely and put down his chopsticks and reached over to place his hands over her hands. "What happened?"

She hesitated while looking at him with a small frown. "Yuuta…"

"…" Fuji squeezed her hands and he became more worried when tears escaped from her eyes. "Mom…what's wrong with Yuuta?"

Yoshiko began to sob. "Yuuta got into a fight at school."

Fuji let out a heavy and disappointed sigh.

"The Chairman called home today, and he said…" The sob wrecking through her body made it hard for her to speak. "He said that Yuuta might get expelled from school."

Fuji bit his lips, disbelieving the situation. "How did it happen?" His eyes roved over as he thought of the direness of the case. "Expel? Is it that serious.?"

That night when he retired to his room, his brothers were fast asleep under their comforters. He thought he was going to have a good rest before work tomorrow, but things just didn't go the way he wanted.

With the thought of Yuuta in mind, he couldn't go to sleep, so he left the room.

From his futon, Yuuta peeked from his fake sleep and sat up when Fuji left. What happened at school was out of his control, and now he was scared, not of the expulsion, but of his family's disappointment. He didn't like school in the first place, but because he wanted to stopped being called and known as the Fish Boy, he had to get a degree and find a decent paying job so that his parents didn't have to continue selling fish at the market anymore.

He fussed up his hair in frustration before throwing the comforter aside and got up to leave the room.

Fuji was sitting outside on the patio when Yuuta found him.

"Nii-san."

Fuji looked sideway at Yuuta as he sat down next to him. "I thought you were asleep." He looked back at the luminescent moon was shining on the night sky.

"I couldn't sleep." Yuuta replied in a small voice. Being near his brother made him calm and collected. It had always had this pleasant effect on him whenever he was feeling down.

"I heard what happened to you from mom." Fuji began calmly. He turned to look at his brother's face to see a few small bruises.

Yuuta smiled and cocked his head to the side to look at his brother. "I look awful right now, right?" He ghosted his fingers across the bruises on his face.

Fuji smiled and looked down at his hands and let out a breath. He nodded. "Does it hurt?"

Yuuta grinned. "It's not that bad."

"Oh. Ne, Yuuta."

Yuuta looked back at the sky. "We've been together for more than 20 years now, and I think you know me very well that I don't usually get myself involved in unnecessary fights, right?"

Fuji nodded.

"I was late for class, so I ran into an elite student on the way and accidentally threw coffee on him." Yuuta took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Then he insulted me, calling me a street dog and other things. It wasn't enough to get me hit him until he started to insult our family's business. My pride couldn't let him get away with it, so I hit him."

Fuji stayed silent and listened to the story understandingly.

"You know, maybe school is not my thing." Yuuta smiled dryly.

Fuji looked at his brother and smiled. "It's alright. Though, I'm not saying that it's alright to hit people, but I would probably do the same thing too if someone insults our family." He reached over to pat Yuuta's hand. "We all have something that we are not compatible with. If you don't like school, then do something else that you like. I'll support you."

"Thanks, nii-san." Yuuta smiled sincerely and lapped over Fuji's hand.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

TBC

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

AN:

Replies to anonymous reviewers: Thank You All!

ayame shuurei: Tezuka was my first option, but then I wanted to make a love twist. ^_^

ren: Thank you for pointing that out. ^_^ Constructive critism is always appreciated because my English is yet to be fluent (Even though this is a mathematical problem).

lovefuji: The main casts met! But just for a bit. More will be on the next chapter. This chapter feels like a prologue for the next chapter.

tamcrutz: Hehe. Thanks for reminding me of my other stories. I'm truly on a writer's block and I cannot think. Thank you for your understanding and support.

mgiceightball: Thank you for your suggestions. I'll keep that in mind as iI create the next chapter. And I'm glad that you like this story because I wasn't too keen with this story in the beginning, but then I have a lot of supporters, so it's really great!

geebaby: Okae, thank you very much for your full support!

tefu fanatic: Maybe so ^_^. Please anticipate the next chapter.

soni-chan: Truly sorry for the delayed update, but hope you enjoy it.


	6. Chapter 6

TYPICAL ROMANCE - CHAPTER 6

It was past 6pm, and Fuji wondered how many more hours it'd take him to complete his mountains of paper works. He needed to clear his desk before tomorrow because the day after was the day he would be starting his temp job on the yacht.

Fuji looked through the blinds and spotted several staffs in their cubicles still working outside. Aoki took an early leave saying something about preparing for the big event, and left him with a big pile of documents that needed to be transcribed into the company's database.

Fuji craned his neck to relieve the tension that had been building up over the past three hours of sitting in front of the laptop. He reached over the strewn files to grab his cup of water and only to find that it was empty, so he stood up and went out to the floor's lounge to fill it up.

As he walked by the cubicles, a woman called out to him.

"Can I help you with anything?"

The woman took off her glasses and smiled at him. "Yes, honey. Could you do me a favor and get this filled with coffee?" She held out her mug with her name imprinted on it. "I have to finish all these within an hour." Making a sad, pitiful face, she pointed to the stack of paper that was one-fifth the amount that was on his desk.

Fuji simply smiled and nodded his head. "Sure." The woman had a family at home waiting for her to come home to make dinner. He didn't want her to be any later. She was supposed to get off at 6.

Unexpectedly, everyone at the cubicles saw it was an opportunity to refill their mugs, so they all waved Fuji over and asked him to refill their drinks. Even though it would cost him his precious time, he could not say no to these smiling women.

By the time he got back to his desk, half an hour had passed. With a long sigh, he returned to working.

"Fuji-chan~ I'm going home now."

Fuji smiled and waved. "Take care and drive safely." That was the last of his co-worker who stayed over time. It was 10 after 9. The lights outside had been switched off, and only Aoki's office and probably the lavatory were on the only rooms were lit on the floor. He was able to clear three-fourth of the files. Judging by the speed at which he was working at, he would be done before 11. Nevertheless, he was tired. Maybe…he should rest his eyes just for a bit.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

With only less than two days left, Tezuka was determined to finish signing and checking all the contracts and documents before he closed the company for 3 days straight. Leaving works undone was a pet peeve that he could never get rid of.

His eyes had been staring at the LCD screen for the past few hours, and they were getting tired. If his mother was here right now, she would scold him and send him straight to bed without argument. She had always been more concerned for his eyesight than anything else, being afraid that he would go blind if he strained them too much.

Tezuka took off his specs, resting them gently on his table, and rubbed his eyes. He was about to rest his eyes for a bit more when a knock came upon his door.

Tezuka put his specs back on as Kaido walked through the door looking ready to go home.

"Everyone on the floor has left. Ryuzaki-san asked me to bring this to you before she left a while ago." Kaido indicated at the steamy mug in his hand and walked over to place a hot mug of tea on Tezuka's desk.

Tezuka nodded. "Thank you."

"When are you leaving?" Kaido asked.

Tezuka glanced at the wall clock and found that it was 10 after 9. "Maybe I'll stay until 10."

"Do you need me to help you with anything?" Kaido offered.

Tezuka shook his head. "No. You can go home."

Kaido looked at his boss with uncertainty before making a decision. "Alright, then I'll see you tomorrow."

Tezuka nodded.

"Good night." Kaido smiled and left.

Tezuka watched at Kaido left his room, thinking how Kaido had been a valuable asset in his company for quite some times now. He felt the need to do something for the man to show his gratitude, but he didn't know how. He knew Kaido wouldn't be ecstatic over a raise, so that was out of the list. Thinking about Kaido's social life out of work, he barely heard the man going out with his friends or having a…girlfriend.

"Girlfriend?" Tezuka wondered aloud while tapping his fingers on his desk. Then, he thought of the owner of Aozu Villa. He had never thought about it when Inui asked him about Kaido's well-being every time they saw each other, but now that he thought about it, it seemed as if Inui had his eyes on his vice president.

Tezuka smiled and made a mental note to ask Inui more about that the next time they meet as well as requesting his secretary's help on investigating about Kaido's love preference.

_Zzzz!_

The vibration of his cell phone intruded on his thought.

"Hello?"

"Kunimitsu. Dinner is almost ready. Where are you?" Without a greeting, his mother asked as if it was an urgent situation that needed his presence right away.

"I'm not coming home any time soon. Please have dinner without me." Tezuka responded.

"Again?" Ayana whined.

"Yes, mother. There are just too many things that need to be completed."

He heard his mother sighed in defeat over the phone. "I know. I know. You don't like to leave things incomplete, but be sure to eat after you get home later on, okay?"

Tezuka smiled. "Yes, mother." He loved how his mother is always so caring.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Kojirou!" Yoshiko called out from the kitchen.

Upon hearing his name, Kojirou scrambled out of the house and ran into the kitchen. "What is it mom? Is the kitchen on fire?"

His mother turned around with a frown and a sharp knife in her hand. "What are you saying?"

Kojirou smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. He was watching a scary movie and his mom happened to call him at the climax. "Nothing, so why did you call me?"

"Oh. Is Syusuke home yet?" Yoshiko asked, turning back to the stove. "It's past 9, and he was supposed to be home at 7."

Kojirou shook his head. "Not yet."

"Call Yumiko and ask. Syusuke said that his workplace is near her house, so she might know where he is."

"Okay." Kojirou replied and ran back into the house to do what he was asked.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Honey! I'm home!" Sasuke called out, taking off his shoes and put them on the rack by the door. Not hearing or seeing the presence of his wife in the house, he called out once again. "Honey?...Now where could she be?"

He put his laptop case by the rack and went straight to their bedroom. Upon entering, she saw Yumiko looming over a suitcase, packing clothes and other necessities. "Honey!"

"Eh?" Yumiko instantly turned around, looking like she was caught doing something suspicious. She blinked, and then let out a soft chuckle. "Honey, you scared me."

Sasuke pouted. "I called out to you as soon as I got home, but you didn't hear me. Is that for Syusuke?" He pointed to the suitcase as he sat on the bed.

"Yes, dear. Just getting it ready for him." She stood up and walked over to her husband to give a loving kiss on his lips.

Before Yumiko pulled back, Sasuke gripped Yumiko's waist and pulled her to sit on his laps. "Continue with that later. I missed my wife." He purred.

Yumiko smiled seductively while tracing her index finger on his chest. "Oh? Did you now?"

"Of course, baby." He pulled her closer to his chest. Their lips were about to touch when Yumiko's cell phone rang out loudly from outside.

"Arh!" Sasuke groaned and fell back on the bed.

"Sorry, dear. I'll be right back." She winked and left the room.

"Kojirou!" Yumiko greeted excitedly. "Did you miss your nee-san?"

Kojirou sighed obviously from the other line. "How did you know it was me? And no, I don't miss you."

Yumiko pouted and faked a sad voice. "How mean. Of course I know it's you, silly."

Ignoring his sister's nuisance, Kojirou got into the point. "Syusuke-nii hasn't come home yet. Do you know where he is?"

"Eh?" Yumiko was thrown off guard, not expecting the question. She was too into packing that she forgot that her brother was supposed to be at her house over 2 hours ago. Now where could the cross-dressed brother be, if not at her house or at her mom's house?

"Nee-san?"

"Oh." Yumiko pursed her lips before speaking again. "He's over at my house right now, and he's sleeping over today."

"Ugh! Why didn't you call earlier?" Kojirou said frustratingly. "Mom was worried!"

Yumiko cringed. She just lied. "Right. I forgot. Tell her I said sorry."

"Mkay. Bye." He hung up before Yumiko could say bye.

She walked back to her room with a contemplating frown on her face.

"You're back!" Sasuke immediately sat up with a wide smile.

"Not now dear."

Sasuke dropped the smile and turned concerned. "What happened?"

"Syusuke is not back yet."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, thinking why that would be a problem. He knew his brother-in-law was not easy to get bullied "…" He could take care of himself.

"He hasn't come back from work yet, and there was no call from him." Yumiko added.

"What?" Sasuke exploded in disbelief, getting immediately onto his feet. A boy Fuji could defend himself, but a girl Fuji simply could not.

Yumiko sighed and shook her head at her husband's rationale.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

There was still a bit left to be done, but Tezuka figured he could finish it first thing in the morning tomorrow. He organized his office before leaving. The way to his car in the garage was quiet and dark. The censored light came on as he passed by and turned off after Tezuka was gone.

Before going into the garage, Tezuka took a look back at his company building and saw a brightly lit room on the 3rd floor in contrast with all other unlit ones. Somehow he had a feeling that something was out of place. He figured that the window would be the one in Aoki's office. He shrugged and went to his car. Aoki could take care of herself.

As he inserted the key into the ignition hole, he thought back on earlier that day when he heard his secretary saying something along the line of Aoki leaving early. Tezuka did a double thought and got out of his car, taking only his phone and keys with him as he headed back to the building.

He took the elevator up and got off at the 3rd floor, walking across the floor in quiet strides while checking to see if anyone else was around in the cubicles. The door to the office was slightly ajar, leaving a line of light to escape the room. Tezuka came closer, first looking through the window with the blind slightly opened. He looked at Aoki's desk, but didn't see her there. He looked around and spotted someone stirring from a smaller desk from the window on the other side of the door. Tezuka walked over to the other window to examine the person who he assumed to be Aoki's secretary. "What's she doing here this late?" Tezuka murmured in wonder to himself.

Fuji's face was turned toward the other side, so Tezuka could only see brown hair.

As if sensing someone was watching him, Fuji woke up from his short nap and snapped his eyes to the window, only to see no one there.

Tezuka's eyes widened with his hand over his heart, good thing he had fast reflex and stepped away from the window before Fuji could see him.

"Hmm…I thought someone was there." Fuji yawned and cleared his eyes before fixing them onto the screen. His eyes drifted to the time on the screen and they widened. "10:15?"

Tezuka flinched when he heard Fuji screamed out.

"Oh this is bad!" Fuji mumbled to himself, pulling his hair in frustration. "Why did I fall asleep? Argh!"

Tezuka peeked back into the window, making sure that he wouldn't be seen. He took a clearer look at Fuji's face. There was a sense of familiarity before Tezuka realized that Fuji was the one he bumped into once at the bottom of the staircase.

He watched as Fuji organizing the folders on his desk, sorting out the ones that were done on the left pile.

Fuji looked at the undone pile again and strength seemed to leave his body at the ridiculous amount of incomplete work. He pouted. "Now I'm not going to be done by 11."

Unknowingly, Tezuka let out a small smile upon seeing Fuji pout.

"Nevermind." Fuji made a decision and stood up to put on his jacket and grab his bag. "I'll come early tomorrow." He yawned once again before turning off the light and left the room, making a beeline to the elevator.

Tezuka stood against the wall silently in the dark, so Fuji wouldn't see him. When Fuji was out of sight, Tezuka took the stairs down.

Fuji walked briskly across the yard. It was dark and no one was around, but that didn't cross his mind. He was thinking about how his family would be so worried about him getting home late without any notice.

Tezuka followed stealthily Fuji from behind, making sure that his presence wouldn't be discovered. He saw Fuji heading toward the bus stop. He was sure that the bus line in front of his company stopped running after 10 on weekdays, but why was Fuji heading there? Tezuka was about to make his presence known when he saw a car stopping by the curve where Fuji was at.

"There you are!" A woman in the passenger seat got out and hugged Fuji.

Seeing how Fuji hugged her back, Tezuka assumed that they were his family. That somehow settled his mind.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next day at the Tezuka's household, the whole family ate breakfast together. After that, Tezuka left.

Ayana and Kuniharu took their father to their family doctor for the annual physical examination, leaving Yushi, Ryoma, and the workers at home in the morning.

"Ryoma!" Yushi called for her otoutou from the foot of the stairs. Since he had no school today, he went back to sleep after breakfast. "Come down for lunch." She left and re-entered the dining room. Yushi had dutifully punished Ryoma's remote behaviors by banning him from touching his tennis racquet and from seeing his 'friends'. Amazingly, he had been a good boy, albeit a bit lazier, possibly lazier than their pet cat.

"He's coming down." Yushi told her parents and grandfather as she sat down at the table.

"Since it's my birthday tomorrow, let's all go out. We can visit the Japanese Garden." Kuniharu suggested. At his age, he only wanted to spend quality time with his family in an acquiescent milieu.

"Why don't you and mother go together? I'm sure I'd be lovely with just the two of you together. Besides, I have a plan tomorrow that simply could not be canceled." Yushi smiled apologetically.

Kuniharu glanced over at his wife with a raised eyebrow. "I spend quality time with your mother every day. I'm sure we are both tired of each other already." He said jokingly.

Ayana glared at her husband and retorted. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of you for more than 3 years now."

Kuniharu let out a loud laugh, making Ayana to smile in return. Yushi winked at her mother. Step one to make her father go out with her mother early in the morning so she could set up the party was a success.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was early Saturday morning, and usually, Akaya would be sleeping until noon. But as soon as he heard his mother came into their room and said a few things to Fuji about him being gone for 3 days, Akaya woke up. "No!"

"Come on, Akaya, let Syu-nii go." Eiji said while trying to pry the boy off Fuji. He signaled Kojirou over to help him.

"Akaya. Syusuke-nii has to go make money so he can buy you more cakes." Kojirou patted his shoulders.

"Syusuke!" His father called out from the front gate. He and his wife were out front since Sasuke arrived, and they had been catching up.

Fuji patted Akaya's head and pecked on his forehead. "Sorry Akaya, but I have to go now. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can, alright?"

Akaya pouted with tears shimmering on the brim while he nodded wordlessly.

Fuji gave each of his brothers a hug before running out the gate. "Bye mom. Bye dad." He hugged each of them and got into the car.

"That was intense." Sasuke commented.

Fuji knew he was referring to Akaya. "Yeah. He doesn't like me being away for too long."

"I understand."

"So, did you bring my suitcase?"

Sasuke glanced over to the passenger seat with a scoff. "Yeah. Had it in there since yesterday. Yumiko insisted."

Fuji chuckled. "But that's why you love her."

Sasuke simply smiled.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Yushi stood on the ground off side from the entrance where the guests were boarding the yacht. The sun was warm despite that they were on the coast and it was an early Saturday morning. Ryoma was leaning against a wooden post with his Fila cap on his head supposedly trying to sleep from his position. Her mother and father were somewhere not fully aware of all these happening.

The workers that she requested from Tezuka were continuing to show up one by one. Looking at them, she nodded in greeting at the newcomers. "Let's wait for another 5 minutes and then I will start on the introduction."

She turned and looked at the yacht. Tezuka was standing on the deck greeting the guests as they got on. Their luggages were taking care of by the crew of 10 men Yushi dispatched from those that arrived earlier.

Ryoma yawned obviously, not bothering to cover his mouth. Yushi chuckled silently and looked at her wristwatch to see that it was now 8 exactly. She counted the number of heads mentally as her eyes swept over the group. _40. Wonderful._

Fuji arrived just in time with a relieved sigh.

Yushi clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention before beginning to speak enthusiastically. "Hello everyone! Some of you have already known who I am, but I'll introduce myself again for those who don't. My name is Tezuka Yushi, and over here.." She swept her hand over to Ryoma. "is my brother Tezuka Ryoma."

The group greeted back cheerfully.

"As of this period in time lasting for 3 days, you will be working for me, and not my brother, alright?"

"Hai!" The group answered in unison.

"Wonderful!"

Ryoma scoffed silently on the side. His sister was liking this too much, especially when she has the role of the employer. Now power over the workers was on her side.

Yushi went on to discuss about the event's agenda and job division.

Fuji was put on the main deck at daytime and upper deck at the nighttime.

After everything was done, he went to settle in his cabin with his roommate Tachibana An.

"So, which division do you work under?" An asked as she took the laid out uniform and walked into the bathroom to change.

"Finance, under Aoki-san." Fuji replied as he looked around while waiting for the bathroom. "What about you?"

"Advertising. I've been working for Tezuka-san since I graduated college."

"Oh? How did you get job?"

An opened the door, dressed up as she combed her hair. "Your turn."

"Thanks." Fuji grabbed his clothes and went in.

"I got lucky. Tezuka-san just got promoted to the CEO position when I graduated, and he needed more employees to compensate for the expansion that year."

"You must be really happy then."

"Yeah. I thought I was going to be a freelancer because advertising wasn't on demand."

Soon, Fuji was done. "Are you done?" He asked, ready to leave.

"Main deck, right?"

Fuji nodded and both headed over to the main deck where they were told.

The decoration in the dining hall was beyond dazzling, much to Fuji's surprise. It looked better than a wedding hall and the number of people gathering in the room was astonishingly great. Fuji and An were assigned to stand near the kitchen's entrance, and the others were dispersed to various places within the dining hall.

Fuji was disrupted from surveying the hall when An nudged him. "Did you hear that?"

Fuji blinked. "What?" He was too busy looking around, and why was An's face a bit red?

She pointed to the kitchen and whispered to him. "Tezuka-san is in there."

Fuji raised an eyebrow. So what if their boss was in there?

Knowing what Fuji was thinking, An slapped Fuji's arm lightly. "No silly, not his sister. Tezuka Kunimitsu, the President."

"Oh." Fuji smiled. A look at An's face told him that she had an obvious crush on the President. "You like him, don't you?"

An flushed redder and cupped her face. "W-what?"

Fuji merely chuckled.

"Oh shush. Here he comes." An said and tilted a bit toward the door just in time when Tezuka walked out with Kaido.

It just happened to be that it was on An's luck that Tezuka looked at them. She immediately froze, but her heart beat furiously.

Tezuka's eyes instantly fixated on the calm girl standing beside the flushed one, remembering her to be Fuji, Aoki's assistant.

He nodded to Fuji.

Fuji was also frozen, but thank God he was able to keep a calm face. When Tezuka nodded in acknowledgement, Fuji broke out of his stupor and return the bow, not forgetting to pull An back into reality.

Tezuka turned and went in the way toward the main entrance.

"Oh my gosh! Did you just see that?" An turned to Fuji and gripped his arms while speaking in a hushed voice.

"What?"

"He looked at me!" An squealed in delight, apparently forgetting that Fuji was beside her and thinking that Tezuka was nodding only to her.

Fuji shook his head slightly with an amusing smile. _So, this is what it feels like to be a girl in love._

A couple of minutes later, Yushi spoke into the microphone, prepping everyone for the surprise before the arrival of her parents. Her grandfather and brothers were standing next to her near the entrance.

When the clock striked 11, the door opened with Ayana standing beside her husband in a beautiful flowing white dress, looking like a goddess. Everyone cheered and confetti fell from the ceiling like snow.

Kuniharu didn't expect there would be anyone on the yacht, since Ayana only told him that it had been a while since they had been on their yacht and she wanted to check it out.

After the gratuity speech, everyone settled down at their respective tables while all the servers disappeared into the kitchen to bring out the prepared appetizer.

Music and laughter filled the hall as everyone enjoyed the delectable dishes prepared by Inui's cooking crew.

When Fuji was back in the kitchen after serving the soup, An pulled him aside while waiting for salad to be arranged. "You look…excited." Fuji commented. There was a big grin on her face.

"I got to serve Tezuka-san's family table." An squealed in a small voice, even though her excitement could blow off the roof.

"Well, I'm glad for you." Fuji said truthfully. Even though he had a crush on the President, it would be too embarrassing for him to be beside the man. After all, Tezuka was his first crush, so he expected to feel uncomfortable if they were close.

"Salad's ready to go." One of the chefs called out, and they returned to their work.

Meanwhile at the table, the family happily ate dinner together.

"If I remember correctly, there is a tennis court on the upper deck." Kuniharu commented. Tennis had been the main sport in their family since he could remember. When he bought this yacht, he ordered tennis courts to be constructed upon finding that they were missing.

Tezuka nodded. "I had people fixed them up a few days ago, still in very good condition."

"Ah." Kuniharu smiled and looked at all of his children. "How about this…let's have a tennis match later. It's been a while since I've played against any of you."

Ryoma smirked. "Mada mada dane. I'll beat you, old man."

Kuniharu exploded in laughter. "Good. Good. That's the spirit."

Ayana could only shake her head amusingly at her youngest. Ryoma was the only one out of her three children who had the audacity to speak in a disrespectful way, yet retained to be lovingly cute. She couldn't lie though, the fact that she liked spoiling Ryoma rotten. She knew that he knew he was spoiled since he was the youngest of the Tezukas.

"Is there going to be a prize for the winner?" Yushi wondered aloud.

"Prize?" Kuniharu raised a brow while smiling as he contemplated the idea. "What do you suggest?"

"Oh." Ryoma's eyes widened. "If I win, then can I start working in the company and stop going to school?"

In unison, his family laughed as they shook their head.

"Nice try, baby brother." Yushi wagged a finger, leaving Ryoma to pout.

Ayana stroke her youngest's hair. "How about if you win, then you can get a car of your choice."

Ryoma's eyes instantaneously lit up. "Really?"

Ayana nodded.

"I can drive myself to places?"

Ayana nodded again.

"No chauffeur?"

"Yes, Ryoma."

"Ah. Yes!"

Tezuka glanced sideway at his brother. "I'm sure I haven't gotten rusty. I might be the winner."

"Then I'll just have to make sure that you won't." Ryoma responded haughtily.

Tezuka merely shrugged. When the salad came out, he took a break from eating and decided to look around. It was then that he spotted Fuji putting down the salad at the table where the division directors of his company sat. His eyes followed Fuji as the girl chatted with the directors, possibly asking if they needed anything else.

Tezuka turned to his sister, who was sitting beside him. "Say, did your employees have their dinner yet?"

Yushi looked at her brother, wondering why Tezuka would ask that question. "No…Why?"

Tezuka calmly replied. "Since they are going to be working the whole night, I was wondering when they would have their dinner."

"Ah." Yushi nodded her head in understanding. "I arranged for half of them to eat after this, and then the rest when they finished."

"That'd be rather late. Wouldn't it be better to get half to eat after all the food has come out? Everyone would be eating and talking. The servers wouldn't do much then."

"That's not a bad idea." Yushi looked at her brother in wonder. "No wonder why you're the President. I'll let the chefs know."

Tezuka wanted to scoff. Hearing praises make him embarrassed. "That's alright. I'll get Kaido to do that."

"But I'm their employer." Yushi reasoned.

"I'm sure Kaido would do a fine job." Tezuka insisted and his sister gave in. Knowing that Kaido was sitting behind him, he turned around and called to the vice president quietly.

Kaido came over and crouched down a bit for Tezuka to whisper into his ears. "Do you need something?"

"I need you to go into the kitchen and tell Inui to get the server's dinner out after all the dishes are brought out." Tezuka noticed Kaido going a little stiff after he said his friend's name. "Let the servers know to take turn having their dinner."

Reluctantly, Kaido nodded. "I understand." He straightened up and walked toward the kitchen to deliver the message. Honestly speaking, he didn't want to see or be near the restaurant owner. Inui was far too creepy to be around.

Pushing the double door, Kaido entered the kitchen. As expected, Inui was the first person that he laid his eyes on. For an unexplainable reason, Inui seemed to always stand out, be it his height, thick spectacles, or the authority he exuded. One thing Kaido must admit though, Inui looked more regal when he was in the kitchen. But outside of the kitchen, Inui looked more like a mix of stalker and pervert more than anything else.

Kaido shook his head to rid of the thoughts before approaching the main chef, who was fully concentrated on arranging the next dish.

"Inui-san."

Inui heard his name being called by a very familiar voice. With a frown, he turned his sight away from the dish. Upon seeing whom it was, Inui immediately stood up straight. "Kaido-kun…Can I help you?"

Kaido nodded, without smiling or showing emotion. "Tezuka-san requested that you to prepare dinner for the servers right after the menu is completed. They will have their dinner once they finished serving all the courses. You may choose the group to eat first."

"Okay." Inui bobbed his head up and down in understanding. "Is there anything else?"

Kaido looked straight at Inui and said in monotone. "That's all."

Without another word, Kaido turned around and walked away, leaving Inui behind to watch Kaido's back and heave a heavy sigh before he returned to the food.

Fuji was able to have his delicious dinner with enough time. Inui told him to be one of the half to eat first, but he denied since the tables that he was assigned were full of requests. All of the female servers gladly took the offer and ate first.

Fuji came back in the kitchen and went up to Inui. "Sorry to bother you again, Inui-san."

Inui was sitting by the cooking counter top planning the next menu. "It's no bother, Fuji-san. Now what can I get you?" He turned to face Fuji and smiled. He remembered the girl's name and face due to the numerous time he was confronted to get something for the guests at her table.

Fuji smiled sheepishly back. The directors at his table continuously made him going back in and out to get items for them. "Someone asked for sauté ginger. Said his stomach doesn't feel well."

Inui nodded and stood up. "I can do that." He walked over the refrigerator and took out the ginger.

"Aren't you hungry, Fuji-san?" Inui asked off handedly while Fuji stood on the other side of the stove to wait for the sauté ginger to be done.

"A little bit." Fuji smiled, biting his lower lip. Actually, he was really hungry, but running in and out of the kitchen made him forget about his stomach. Now that Inui mentioned it, his stomach growled quietly.

Inui glanced quickly at Fuji before resuming chopping the ginger into strips. "Pardon me, but I've been a chef for almost 7 years now. I can tell when someone is hungry or not, and I'm going to be honest with you, you look like you need food in that stomach really soon." He offered an understanding smile before sautéing the ginger.

Fuji blushed in embarrassment.

"I want you to come back here to eat right after you delivered this, got it?" Inui held out the plate of sauté ginger to Fuji. "I'll ask another server to take over your table."

Fuji grinned. "Okay, thank you Inui-san!"

Tezuka looked around and noticed that another server had replaced Fuji. _Finally she's having her dinner?_

"Kunimitsu." Yushi poked his arm while whispering.

"Mhm?"

Yushi leaned closer and spoke in a hushed voice. "Go see that the cake is prepared."

Tezuka nodded and left the table quietly while his parents conversed with one another.

Fuji was the only server in the kitchen with Inui and the other chefs. He sat by Inui whilst talking to the main chef as he ate.

Tezuka headed straight to where his friend was sitting, noticing that Fuji was conversing with his friend.

"Inui."

Both turned to the owner of the voice.

"Tezuka." Inui shifted his spectacles. "How was the food?"

Fuji looked back down at his food, suddenly feeling conscious with Tezuka standing within 1 meter behind him.

"Splendid. Thank you."

Inui grinned. "Of course. I assumed you want the cake out now?"

Tezuka nodded.

"Wait here a second. Let me go get that cake from the freezer." With that, Inui left.

Fuji resumed eating, albeit feeling uncomfortable and swallowing seemed to be more difficult.

Tezuka looked around the kitchen. It looked in ordered, so he looked back at where Inui sat and saw the menu. He walked closer and stood beside Fuji, picking up the menu, wondering what would be for breakfast tomorrow.

Fuji peeked up to take a look at Tezuka's concentrated face and quickly looked back down when the corner of Tezuka's eyes shifted from the menu down to him. He wondered if he was caught since his eyes were closed, but still…the angle of his face was quite obvious. He could feel heat rushing up to his head.

Tezuka smiled softly to himself, thinking that Fuji was kind of cute when he was shy.

Saved by the moment, Tezuka was called over by Inui to come over and take a look at the cake.

Fuji thought his heart was going to jump out from his chest if it wasn't for Inui._ Thank you, Inui-san._

TBC

_Review Replies_:

DevilsNvrCry: Reading your comments makes me a whole lot happier and thank you for giving this story a try. And of course, I'm glad that you like it!

Viri9ian Furamashi: Thank you for your enthusiastic review. I listened to the new track and it sounds great. This kind of music makes me feel like I'm going to war. Victorious battle song. ^^

faith lane: thank you for your patient. Very joyous that you like the drama!

devi no kaze: Possibly more than you, I might be lazier! Do you have any suggestions of what is going to happen to Ryoma? hehe thank you

fan-001: Yes, I will of course continue this story because I cannot disappoint you and everyone else! Right? thank you for your comment on my profile pic. I love kazuki!

xxxSakanaza-chanxxx: I'm extrememly glad that ch. 5 wans't a disappointment to you. As for the question that was running through your mind, I think you are going to have to find out!

magiceightball: long chapters are good, ne? Thank you for your extremely deep understanding. Pressure can make me write very crappy. hehe. i tried making this long, but I'm out of ideas.

Ookami Fuu: I like your solutions and you will see the tug-o-war in the next chapter! But between who? *secret!

azab: The pairings will slowly appear, but you must squint for them. glad that you liked the ch

ayame shuurei: so, now i know that you like TeFu interaction. hehehe then you'd have to stay tune for future chapters, ne?

secret25: crazily long chapter! I can tell you that the relationship between Yuuta and Ryoma will affect Tefu somehow. Oh my, you noticed naruto fanism in me! I love the Uchihas even though they are bad.

kolachess: TeFu dose is on the way!

denizen of the night: There would be more of Aoki and it's not going to end so soon yet. Stay tune..

CherriAme: Yep Yushi is a girl!

geebaby: i love your patience. makes me so happy to have a supporter like you! And please keep being interested!

xXviolenceisgolden: update is continuing!

Character Profile:

Tezuka Kunikazu: grandfather, age ?

Tezuka Kuniharu: Father, 50

Tezuka Ayana: Mother, 50

Tezuka Yushi: Daughter, 31, single, owns a small bakery shop

Tezuka Kunimitsu: Son, 26, single, CEO of Tez. Co.

Tezuka Ryoma: Son, 21, single, spoiled and haughty, but naiive, there's nothing he likes more than tennis

Fuji Akira: Father, 49, fish merchant

Fuji Yoshiko: Mother, 49, fish merchant

Fuji Kuranosuke: Son, 29, married, computer engineer

Fuji Yumiko: Daughter, 28, married, florist

Fuji Syusuke: Son, 26, single, Accounting assistant at Tez. Co.

Fuji Kojirou: Son, 24, single, mischievous, college-student majoring in comp. tech.

Fuji Eiji: Son, 22, single, bubbly, college-student majoring in veterinarian

Fuji Yuuta: Son, 20, single, short-temper, college-student

Fuji Akaya: Son, 15, single, a child at heart

Sasuke: Yumiko's husband

Atobe Keigo: bachelor, 26, one of the shareholder of Tez. Co. and CEO of his family business

Yukimura Seiichi: Daughter of Kuniharu's old friends, 26, set up with Tezuka, but secret lover of Sanada, model

Sanada Genijirou: lawyer of Tez. Co. 26, lover of Yukimura

Masaharu Niou: nephew of Fuji's old workplace and Fuji's friend, 26, prankster, single Publics Relations Assistant at Tez. Co.

Aoki Aoki: Daughter of one of the shareholder at Tez. Co., 26, single, Accounting director of Tez. Co.

Ryuzaki Sakuno: Tezuka's secretary, 25, single

Kaido Kaoru: Tez. Co. Vice President, 25, single

Momoshiro Takeshi: Tez. Co. security guard, 25, single

Oishi Shuichiro: Tezukas' family chaffeur, 26, single

Tachibana An: Tez. Co. employee from Advertisig department, 25

Inui Sadaharu: Owner of Aozu Villa, friend of Tezuka, 26, single


	7. Chapter 7

TYPICAL ROMANCE CHAPTER 7

After 2 full hours of fine dining, dinner was over. The guests filed out slowly, emptying out the dining hall and leaving the workers behind. Instead of clearing the table and the floor, Fuji and a few were dispatched to the upper deck while the others were spread over on other floors. Being in the cabins and halls made him realize how much he needed the cool breeze on the deck to calm his mind and sooth his aching muscle of being on heels all day long.

A couple of guests in their middle age were mostly the ones on the deck enjoying quiet chats and wine drinking before the night got deeper. His job was to serve wine and other drinks requested by guests. Occasionally, he would be sent to get some empty glasses of wine from the supply room or to bring glasses back to the bar for refill. Only six others like him were docked on the upper deck as most of the guests were down on the main deck enjoying other activities that were more voluminous and merry.

From the corner of his eyes, he spotted a group of three older men leaving toward the staircase leading to the lower level. Their wine glasses were left on the glass table where they stood. Fuji headed over to collect the now empty glasses and brought them to the rack in the supply closet where he would bring down to the kitchen later when it was full. Closing the door, he looked up toward the staircase as he heard people coming up; his eyes instantly recognized one of the men from the small group of six. They headed straight toward one of the empty table to sit down after telling a server standing by the staircase their request for wine. The heat from the umbrella warmed them.

Fuji turned his attention away and looked up at the sky. The night was nothing like he had ever seen before. It was beautiful in a way that even the countryside couldn't reveal, and looking at a completely dark sky with stars so bright and glistening was mesmerizing. From the upper deck, he could look down and see the vast clear ocean that deflected the shining stars, thus making both the sky and ocean like a glittering universe. It wasn't until he felt someone tapping on her shoulder that he broke from the reverie of the night light and remembered where he was and what he was doing.

"Ah! I'm sorry. I'll get back to work right away." Fuji quickly apologized as he turned around, thinking it was his manager or boss, so he looked down with hands folding in front.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not the manager." The light teasing voice announced.

Fuji frowned and looked up to see one of his fellow co-workers standing with a smile. "Hi…" He knew the face. They were co-workers, but they didn't have the time to get to know each other yet, so he didn't know the other's name.

"Hi. My name's Tachibana Kippei." The man held out his hand. Fuji smiled and took the hand into a handshake.

"Fuji Syuki." Fuji returned.

Tachibana nodded with a serene smile. "I didn't mean to disturb you earlier, but can you lend me a hand for a bit? We're short in staffing up here since there were a few that got relocated to the lower deck."

"Of course! I just got distracted and thank you for reminding me," Fuji smiled sheepishly.

Tachibana chuckled in return. "By the view I assume?"

Fuji nodded. "It's my first time on something this big and luxurious…but what is it that you need help with?"

"Ah!" Tachibana exclaimed. He got distracted for a bit there. "Can you collect the empty glasses from the table? I need to get them delivered to the kitchen, so that we wouldn't run out before the night ends."

"Sure!" Fuji agreed right away. He was supposed to be doing that anyway, so he silently thanked Tachibana for bringing it about nicely.

There weren't many guests on the upper deck in the first few hours, but as the night grew deeper, more people frequented the upper deck for a breather and tranquility after all the activities that they engaged that night.

After getting as many glasses as he could with his two hands, he walked across the floor to the storage room to put the glasses in the case. He went for a few more rounds, collecting every glass.

He was on his last round when someone popped out from thin air and stood in front of him.

"Yo!"

Fuji jerked back in surprise and yelped.

"Whoa!" The person quickly reached forward to steady Fuji before he could fall down. Fuji's right foot bent sideway, and a little crack went unheard.

"What the heck, Niou!" Fuji hissed at his friend's mischievous smiling face and pushed himself away, but only to stumble sideway. Luckily, he only had three glasses in his hands.

"Sorry buddy!" Niou winced, but inwardly chuckling, as he reached out again to steady Fuji. His face was nowhere near apologetic.

"You broke my heel, you idiot!" Fuji huffed angrily and smacked Niou's head.

"Ow! Why so hard?" Niou grabbed his head as he pouted childishly at a scowling Fuji.

"Your fault for surprising me. Now what am I supposed to wear? It's my only pair idiot!" Fuji had his hands on his hips, and with a face and body clad in female clothing like that, Niou couldn't help but grinned in amusement. Instead of finding it disturbed because of the cross-dressing or intimidated because Fuji was angry, he found it cute.

"Aw come on now, you've always known me for my pranks, what's there to be surprised of?" Niou casually swung an arm around Fuji's shoulders.

"You-" Fuji's retort was cut off with a finger silencing him.

"I'm sure one of your female friends has an extra pair somewhere. A lady always brings a back-up pair."

Fuji humped and threw Niou's arm off his shoulders. "Stop messing around. Unlike you, I'm working right now, so don't bother me." With that said, Fuji limped across the floor.

"Hey, you need help?" Niou called out only to be ignored. He tsk-ed after Fuji, shaking his head amusingly. "Even more feisty as a girl."

Before Fuji reached the supply room, Tachibana had run over and helped him with the glasses. "Let me help you with that. Are you okay? What happened?"

Fuji thanked God Tachibana was actually concerned, unlike his idiot of a friend. Fuji smiled gratefully. "Thank you. I'm alright, but unfortunately my right heel is broken." He lifted his right foot up and saw the heel dangling from the sole.

"How is your foot? I hope it's not broken."

"Nah." Fuji brushed it away and stooped down to take the right shoe off. He observed the feminine object with disdain. "I knew these were unreliable. I don't know why we bothered to wear these horrible feet killers." He ripped off the heel before putting the heel-ess sole back on his right foot. At least, he didn't have to walk bare foot.

Tachibana chuckled at that. He didn't think Fuji would be more tomboy than girly, because honestly, Fuji's face showed no hardship that's near off a rich young lady who grew up in dresses and heels. Tachibana shook his head to clear his thought before offering. "Glad that you're okay. You should go look for another pair. I and the rest will take care of everything."

Fuji nodded and mustered a thank you before leaving the upper deck.

"Of all things to happen, it just had to break." Fuji mumbled as he limped down the stairs in angry stomps. He turned right and went down the corridor. The rooms ahead were for the guests, and the rooms down further were for the female workers. "Stupid old man." Because of the color of Niou's hair, he was often mistakenly for an elderly man from behind and Fuji had a knack to tease him about it.

Now that he was limping, the corridor seemed to be longer than it originally was. Fuji growled. If not for Niou, he wouldn't be limping so miserably. In addition, his feet were starting to hurt. He glared down at the inanimate object that was tormenting him. "How is it that only one broke?"

Before he knew it, he stumbled and fell against the wall. He cursed it. The other heel broke off. "Oh great! Just my luck..." Fuji angrily took it off and threw it straight ahead. Unknowingly at that moment, two doors down the hall, a door opened and someone stepped out.

The shoes swished across his face, nearly hitting his nose. The man froze.

Fuji gasped with both hands flew over his mouth. His eyes opened widely.

Then, the man came back to senses with an incredulous look as he scrunched his face in confusion. "What in the world...?" His head turned to the side when he finally felt someone else was there in the hall with him.

Fuji quivered under the man's angry gaze. He stuttered out. "I-I'm so-so sorry."

Angry words were about to leave his mouth when he looked straight into Fuji's eyes. His face was void of negative emotions, and was replaced by unexplainable interest. "Have we met before?"

"I don't know…but you look awfully familiar." Fuji was shocked by the sudden change in emotion, but he answered nevertheless.

A moment of silence passed as the two dwelled in deep thought.

"Ah!" The man had his index finger up as if he had just made a discovery.

The sudden voice surprised Fuji, so he closed his eyes.

"You're that girl that fell on the stairs!"

"Stairs?"Fuji blinked in confusion. "What stairs?"

The man haughtily smiled. "That's right! I was on my way to meet Tezuka and saw someone ran into you on your way up the stairs."

Oh, Fuji remembered. "Ah, you're my savior." A look of revelation appeared on his face. He closed the distance between them and held out his hand. "I didn't have the chance of thanking you, so Thank You."

The man scoffed subtly, feeling joy creeping inside of him, as he took the soft offered hand into a handshake. He wasn't expecting the handshake. He thought he was going to get a hug… "You're welcome."

"It's wonderful seeing you again."

Atobe grinned. He was all too used to being praised and thanked. "Does that mean you're return the favor?"

Fuji's forehead creased slightly in confusion. He thought thanking was enough. What could this rich-haughty-looking person want from a poor blue-collar girl? Or guy?

Atobe's smile dropped a bit. "You weren't thinking of treating me out to lunch or dinner weren't you?"

Fuji chuckled in amusement, not taken offense. Even though they hadn't had much exposure of each other, he got an idea of what kind of person Atobe was. In Fuji's way of thinking, he called it ignorance, but for Atobe, it would be confidence.

In all honesty, Atobe was confident that girls would go through swamps to get a date with him, especially with the face that he took pride in.

"Do you really want to eat vendor's food on the side of the street?" Fuji said with a crooked smile.

Atobe frowned. Just what was vendor's food? A place for eating was called a restaurant.

Atobe raised an eyebrow when a thought came to him. "Oh…you mean the cheap thing called street food?"

Fuji nodded slowly with an unsure smile as if he was confirming a young child's inquiry. He wasn't sure if he should be offended of how Atobe was out-righting belittling his kind of food. However, figuring Atobe grew up in a different world, he didn't say anything.

Atobe tried to think of a kind of street food, but all that popped up in his head was lobsters and parfait. "…"

Receiving no answer, Fuji put an end to that topic. "Yeah…that's what I thought."

Atobe shrugged, a smile coming back on his face. "Well, I guess a thank you is enough."

Fuji sighed in his mind_. No duh_!

Atobe openly looked at Fuji up down with a hard thinking frown on his face for a few seconds before looking back into his face. "You're a worker on this cruise." He stated the obvious. Only workers wear uniform as he did.

Nevertheless, Fuji nodded.

Atobe then looked around the hall as if looking for something or someone. "Why are you down here alone?"

Fuji looked down at his feet and Atobe's eyes followed. "My heels broke off and I need to get something else to wear."

"That's unfortunate."

Fuji agreed with a hum.

"If you need a pair of stilettos, my secretary might have an extra lying around somewhere that I can lend you."

Fuji's eyes widened a bit, surprised at the offer. "Oh no! I don't want to be a bother. I'm sure I brought a pair of tennis shoes with me."

"Well, if you're sure." Atobe smiled. "I got to go. My friend's waiting for me at the court." He pointed to the tennis bag on his shoulder.

It was then that Fuji noticed Atobe had the bag with him. "Oh I'm sorry to hold you up, and for earlier too. I hope you didn't get hurt."

Atobe scoffed mightily. "Don't worry. A mere shoe doesn't hurt me that easily."

Fuji was amazed. Not only didn't Atobe make it a big deal he let Fuji off with no scolding. He was truly lucky.

"See you soon, then..."

"Fuji. My name's Fuji Syuki." Fuji equipped readily when he saw a deep contemplative expression on Atobe's face.

"Fuji." Atobe said with a cocky smile. Since he held a high position practically everywhere he went, he never really bothered to use formality except to those exceptionally older than he did.

Fuji held the urge to roll his eyes.

Atobe smirked as he walked closer, patting Fuji's shoulder amiably, before walking away.

Fuji frowned, turning to look at the back of Atobe as he walked further away. "What a weird person." Fuji murmured before leaving in the other direction.

The pair of shoes that he packed along wasn't very new compared to the uniform, but it would have to do for now. Once he freshened up with a splash of water to his face and a drink of water, he left the room in a better mood.

"Fuji-san!"

Fuji was surprised to see Inui at the spot where he encountered Atobe a while ago. "Inui-san."

Because he was a data analyst-type person, he didn't fail to notice the small difference in Fuji's height and the pair of tennis shoes.

Fuji saw where Inui's eyes went, and explained before the question came along. "My heels broke off, and this is the only pair that I brought with me."

"Ah. Walk with me." Inui smiled, tilting his head to the direction Fuji was heading toward. "Where are you assigned tonight?"

Fuji nodded and jogged up to walk beside the chef. "The upper deck."

Inui shifted the spectacle up on the bridge of his nose. "It's a little bit late in the night, so it's expecting to be cooler up there, given that we are in the middle of the ocean." He said as he looked at his watch. Then, he glanced sideway at Fuji. "Mind walking me to the court?"

Fuji looked up in puzzlement, wondering why Inui would ask that. "I would but I can't. There are not many servers up there when I left and I do need to return to my assignment."

Inui merely smiled and gave Fuji a pat on his head lightly. "Don't worry. I'll have someone to cover you."

"But I'm supposed to be working. I'd be unfair to others if I-"

Fuji was cut off in mid-sentence by Inui's tennis bag. The chef was holding it right in front of his face. He blinked at it in confusion.

"Just like a caddy in golf, you can be mine."

Fuji sighed before taking it swinging it onto his shoulder. "There's no such thing as a tennis caddy." He followed Inui down the hall to where the tennis court was located.

As they neared the court, the hall became more crowded with small groups of people standing outside talking in their tennis gear. Almost all of them knew who Inui was. They all said hi to him.

"It might be a bit dangerous in here, so just watch out for flying balls, alright?" Inui warned like a brother figure. Fuji nodded with a thankful smile before Inui pushed the large double door open.

The moment they were inside, thumping and cheering noises blew through their ears excitedly, pumping up their mood almost instantaneously. A big grin spread across his face. "What do you think?"

Fuji looked up at Inui and saw a big grin. He shifted his gaze to the three rows of five courts in the biggest gym that he had ever seen. The glass ceiling shaped like a dome, allowing the sky outside to be seen from above. "It's amazing! I've never seen something like this before. It's so big."

Inui jerked his eyebrow up twice with a grin. "Wait 'till you see the pro's match."

"Pro?" Fuji said in wonder. He had always wanted to go see a game, but he never had the opportunity to.

Inui nodded. "Come on. I'll show you where Tezuka is playing."

The mention of Fuji's boss name caught his attention. "Is Tezuka-shachou a pro?" The thought of Tezuka playing tennis was exciting. He found people looking their best when they engaged in a serious tennis game, sweating in their gray T-shirts.

Inui shrugged. Fuji shifted the bag up his shoulder. Good thing it wasn't that heavy. It was just big. "He never went pro, but he used to be the captain in our junior and senior high tennis team."

"Wow..."

Inui smirked with an unreadable glint in his eyes. There was an indescribable feeling when he looked at Fuji. She was an interesting girl, and she would be an interesting match for his friend. Eyes as observant as his, he didn't miss the subtle, if any, interaction between Fuji and Tezuka during dinner.

_Huff huff..._Ryoma could feel fatigue building through his system. He focused on the person across the court, on the other side of the net. That person wasn't even a bit tired. The smirk taunted him, and he twitched in annoyance.

"Seems like you need more practice." The person's voice taunted him.

"Just serve the ball already." Ryoma yelled back in annoyance, getting ready for the serve. "Tch." It came right away, and he chased for it.

On the sideline, Kuniharu stood with his daughter, wife, and father commenting on the match.

Yushi looked smugly at his youngest brother. "He's still too early to beat Kunimitsu."

Kuniharu tugged his wife closer by his waist. "I feel happy every time I look at the two of them play. They excelled so much in a few years time."

"Not just you, I'm also proud of them." Ayana smiled fondly as she looked at his children. "Ah~! My boys are growing up!"

Back in the court, Tezuka's eyes never left the game. No matter how much commotion there was in the gym, he paid them no attention. He couldn't let Ryoma win and walk away with a car. Just one more point, and he'd win. Only one more point...

_Thwack!_

He missed the ball.

Ryoma smiled smugly. "Now we're tie." He still had a chance to win.

Tezuka sighed and walked back to the line. A second before he missed the ball, the corner of his eyes caught the sight of Inui tugging at Fuji's elbow just before a stray ball was able to hit his head. He turned back to Ryoma, waiting for the serve.

Inui greeted the Tezuka family as they arrived. Yushi spared a curious glance at Fuji before looking back at Inui. "I see you found yourself a helper." She said with a friendly smile.

Fuji thought she was going to be angry, so he shifted his eyes to the floor.

Inui smiled back. "Yeah. I hope you don't mind."

Yushi shook her head. "You're our chef, so feel free to grab any one of my employees if you need help."

"Thanks." Inui nudged Fuji, easing his worry.

Fuji nodded subtlety. He averted his eyes to the game between the Tezuka brothers.

"Don't let your guard down!" Tezuka's strong voice drifted across the court. He only needed one more point to win the game.

The swift movement of Tezuka running at the ball mesmerized Fuji. The speed. The strength. And the tension.

Not so long after, Ryoma walked off the court with a glare at nothing in particular.

"Well, good thing you won." Yushi said to Tezuka when he came over to the sideline to get his towel and water bottle.

"He got a bit better since the last time we played. If he practices more, I think I'll have a difficult time keeping up with him."

"Then it is all the more reason why you need to take breaks between works to play tennis. Treat it like a work out." Kuniharu told his son with a proud pat on Tezuka's shoulder.

"I'll consider." Tezuka said with a smile, taking a sip of water.

"Well, now that's over. We're going to retire to the upper deck." Kuniharu said. After they bid good night, the rest of the Tezukas left, except for Tezuka.

Inui motioned for Fuji to come closer as he came nearer to Tezuka.

"You missed the game." Tezuka pointed out with a boring look.

"Yeah well, you know how it is down at the kitchen. I saw the last set though, amazing as usual." Inui commented wisely. He needed to upgrade his data on Tezuka.

Tezuka only nodded before shifting his gaze on Fuji, waiting for Inui to introduce them.

"This is Fuji Syuki." Inui placed a hand on Fuji's head, lightly tousling his hair. "My best dining server." He said with a proud smile. He looked down at Fuji. "And you already know the big boss."

Fuji nodded with a smile. He slowly, but shyly glanced up at Tezuka. "Nice to meet you, Tezuka-shachou."

Tezuka nodded regally. A small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Likewise, Fuji-san."

Fuji suddenly shook his head. "Oh no! Please, you don't need to be formal with me. You're my boss and...and..."

Inui and Tezuka's chuckles stopped him in mid-rant and made him blush in embarrassment.

"Never mind." Fuji murmured as he looked down at his shoes.

"Here, I'll take my bag." Inui said as he took the bag from Fuji. "You're welcome to stay and watch."

"Is that really okay? Since I'm supposed to be working and all." Fuji pursed his lips in thought.

Inui smiled up at him. "Well, why don't we ask Tezuka?"

Fuji's eyes widened as he looked at Inui taking out his racket. He took a short glance at Tezuka.

Tezuka raised an eyebrow. A finger came up to push the rimless glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I don't see a problem."

"Okay. It's settled then. I trust you to watch my bag, alright?" Inui placed a hand on Fuji's shoulder, who nodded with more relaxed smile. "Good." He really didn't need Fuji to do that at all. Really, who would be in their right mind to go through his cryptic bag?

Inui and Tezuka walked into the court.

Fuji watched them deciding who would serve.

From a corner, Aoki had been watching the scene in front of her since the moment Inui and Fuji stepped in. She thought it was strange how Fuji was following Inui when she was supposed to be working like the others. It was confirmed to him that Fuji was indeed, somehow, getting special treatment when Tezuka smiled and the smile that was never directed to her ever since she got the position at his company. Because of that smile, a burning feeling of jealousy ignited within her.

Did she make a mistake by introducing Fuji to this job?

Her eyes narrowed. She had to do something about it.

Fuji was surprised to see Aoki standing next to him so suddenly. He didn't see that coming, nevertheless, he smiled and greeted Aoki politely.

Aoki only gave her a smile, fake but real enough in Fuji's eyes. "I thought you'd be working."

Fuji blushed in embarrassment, feeling a rush of guilt riding up as he looked at her shoes. "Inui-san asked me to carry his bag for him, and then he told me that I can watch."

"Oh? Is Inui-san your boss now?"

Fuji's eyes widened at the accusing voice. He didn't like how that sound, but he was more surprised that it carry a true point. "No."

After a moment of silence, Fuji looked back up at the game. "Tezuka-san's sister said it was okay." He said in a small voice.

"Ah, that's good then."

Fuji looked up at Aoki questionably.

"I was just worried that you'd get into trouble for standing around."

Fuji smiled in relief. He thought Aoki was somehow angry with her. "Thank you, Aoki-san."

Throughout the game, the two stood by each other watching the amazing game between two of Japan's best bachelors. Even though Inui lost with great discrepancy, it was still good.

The two made their way over, and Fuji gave them a big smile. "That was great!" He almost squealed.

Both smirked, grabbing their towels and water. They noticed that there was another audience, both nodding at Aoki in acknowledgement.

"That was nothing." Inui brushed it off. "If you want to see a better game, his brother can entertain you more than I can. Right Tezuka?"

Tezuka shrugged as he wiped the sweat off his face. "Maybe you should try to be more serious, instead of gloating me to use my techniques." He looked to Fuji. "I'm glad you enjoyed that."

Aoki hid an annoyed glare behind a passive face. Tezuka only regarded Fuji, ignoring her.

Fuji nodded with enthusiasm. "I wish I could play like you."

Tezuka was about to offer teaching Fuji how to play when Inui spoke up. "I can teach you if you want, but not like Tezuka though."

Fuji smiled gratefully, hiding the fact that he knew how to play. "Thank you, but I don't want to bother you. It might be frustrating to teach me."

Tezuka didn't say anything, although Fuji secretly wished that he would say something.

"You never know until you try." Inui said. He was done packing up his gear. "Just tell me when and I'll be ready to teach you in case you change your mind."

Suddenly, Aoki had an idea in her head. "Tennis looks like a fun game. I'd be nice if I can play too." She said with a wistful smile at Tezuka. "Can you teach me sometimes, Tezuka-shachou?"

Tezuka was taken off guard at the request. Good thing he wasn't drinking water, or he'd spit it out into her face. He saw Fuji looking at him expectantly. He cleared his throat before looking at Aoki. "I guess I can." It'd be unmanly of him to reject a lady. Even though he was not interested in women that way, he still knew what a man was.

Fuji felt a bit sad hearing that, wishing it would be her in Aoki's place.

"Anyhow, it's late." Inui looked at his wristwatch. "10 'til midnight. I'm going to head to bed. You coming?"

Tezuka nodded and took his bag.

"What about you Fuji-san?"

Fuji looked around to see guests starting to leave while the workers cleaned up. "I'll stay and help the others clean up."

"Alright, hurry and ahead to bed right after, okay?" Inui said with a definite tone in his voice.

Fuji nodded with a smile. Inui gave Fuji a gentle pat while Tezuka gave him a nod before heading off.

After they were gone, Fuji turned back to Aoki. "Are you heading out too?"

Aoki sighed. "Yeah." She walked off without saying another word.

In the midst of picking up the balls, the door suddenly opened to reveal Ryoma coming in with only a racket in his hand. Everyone looked up in surprise. It was well past midnight, so they didn't expect anyone to be in the gym.

A worker nearest to the door approached Ryoma, asking if he forgot or needed something.

Fuji continued to pick up the balls by the wall, eager to get it done soon so he could get some sleep. When he was about to pick up the last ball a pair of expensive tennis shoes came into view. He looked up and blinked in confusion.

Ryoma looked down at her with an impassive face that was similar to his brother's. "That's my ball." He said, looking at the ball Fuji had his hand hovered above.

"Oh." Fuji looked back down and grabbed the ball. "Here you go." He gave it to Ryoma.

He took it into his hand, staring at it for a second before looking at Fuji's face. "Thanks." He walked off without a word.

"Fuji!" The voice from one of the workers called to her.

"Yes!" Fuji jogged up to the workers.

"We're all done. Let's go."

Fuji nodded, glad that the day was finally over.

However, they were shortly stopped by Ryoma at the door. "Which one of you know how to play tennis?"

They all had a confused look on their face as they looked at each other. "I don't think anyone of us knows-"

"I do."

Every present eye turned to Fuji.

"I know just a bit though."

Ryoma looked at her skeptically. "Can you rally?"

Fuji nodded again with a smile.

"Good." Ryoma said. "Follow me."

"Tezuka-san. It's a bit late right now-"

The worker was interrupted by a glare from Ryoma. "You all can go. She'll stay with me."

"But-"

The glare grew harsher, leaving the workers with no other choice but to leave Fuji behind. They all offered an apologetic smile when Ryoma turned his back to them. Fuji smiled gratefully to them and bid them good night before following Ryoma to a wall that held multiple rackets.

He picked out a light one and gave it to her.

"Rally with me." He said and walked over to his side of the court.

The first serve was easy. Fuji returned the ball with ease. It was just a friendly rally, so the ball continuously bounced back and forth after each hit.

The ball bounced off Fuji's court.

"You're quite good." Ryoma commented with a smile. He was in a bad mood earlier due to the repercussion of his lost to his brother. However, after the slow rally with Fuji, his turmoil mind was easing away bit by bit.

"I play with my brothers sometimes." Fuji replied while going after the ball.

A small mischievous smile tugged at Ryoma's lips. "Hope you don't mind this then."

"Huh?" Fuji was taken by surprise when the returned ball flew like lightning toward him. Ryoma smashed the ball.

_Higuma Ootoshi_

It happened so fast that Ryoma could only blink in widened eyes. The sound of the ball hitting the floor behind him jolted him from the shock. _What just happened?_ He looked back at Fuji innocently standing on the other side of the net.

He couldn't believe his smash was returned so easily and stealthily.

"How did you do that?"

Fuji looked at Ryoma innocently as the boy approached her. "Do what?"

"That! What move did you use to return my smash?"

Fuji looked like a deer in headlights. The smash came on too fast that he didn't have time to think of a return, so he instinctively return with a special move.

Fuji shrunk down under Ryoma's intense glare. "It's called Higuma Ootoshi." He spoke out in a small voice.

Ryoma frowned. "Higuma Ootoshi? What kind of name is that? I've never heard of it!" He twitched at the ridiculously cute name. He studied tennis, and there was no way that he didn't know a special move recorded in the history of tennis.

"Ah! It's late. I hope you don't mind, I'd like to be excused." Fuji quickly changed the topic. He didn't want to be questioned right now.

Ryoma took a moment before nodding wordlessly.

"I'll put this back up there then." Fuji raised the racket. Receiving a nod from Ryoma, he ran over to the wall and hung it up. Ryoma was at the door waiting for him.

They walked together in silence, with Fuji lagging a step or two behind. He was mushed from the day's work. The only thing he could think of was how sweet it would be to be in bed.

In contrast, many things were running through Ryoma's mind. He had a feeling that there was something special about the girl aside the hidden talent behind Fuji's innocence and naitivity. He had to find out who taught Fuji that counter. He glanced back at Fuji to see her yawn tiredly.

A sudden wave of guilt washed over him as he secretly watched Fuji dragging herself back to her room. It was strange and it bothered him because it had been a while since he harbored this kind of conscious ridden feeling.

A strange feeling ignited within him as he watched Fuji going in a different way. He couldn't put it in place, but he'd have to find out ASAP, because it was making him feel uneasy.

**TBC**

Review Replies

Seishirou Hitsugaya: Srry for the long wait!

plssssssssssss: It'd be nice if you have a name...

nadia: yeah I'm trying to build up Tezuka's interest in Fuji, just hope that it's not too sudden or desperate.

ameshi: thank you. i hope you also enjoyed this chapter. I seriouly don't know when tefu is going to have their moment, but I'll try to think of a nice scene next chap for them. Srry for the late update and keeping you waiting.

crimsonsnow: pres will have to wait and find out, ne?

usa-chan: thank you, and srry for the wait

tamcrutz: thank you for patiently waiting. I do hope that this chap paid off, otherwise I'd be devastating from disappointment. The shock will not come just yet coz im building tension.

geebaby: thank you! i'm wracking my brain for more interaction scenes for future chapters. I think this story will end around 15 chapters, but i'm not sure.


	8. Chapter 8

**TYPICAL ROMANCE CHAPTER 8**

"Have you seen my brother?"

"No sir."

Tezuka sighed and let the worker go, turning left at the fork out into the main deck. A few of the older guests were taking a morning breather and exercising. It was breakfast time, so the majority of the guests were in the dining hall. He was up and about an hour earlier with breakfast done long ago. He had been in the hall hosting a few of his friends until his parents came over and asked if Ryoma had eaten breakfast yet, in which he didn't. So, Tezuka went to look for his brother in the latter's bedroom but only to find that he was not there. Hence, he had been going around asking if anyone had seen Ryoma.

"Tezuka!"

He turned to where the voice came from and saw Atobe by the pool with a few other shareholders. He walked over to them, giving a slight nod in acknowledgement.

"Where are you going?"

"Looking for my brother. Have you seen him?" A shareholder offered Tezuka a cigarette that he readily declined.

"Well, aren't you lucky." Tezuka glanced at Atobe, waiting for the diva to continue after he smirk. "I saw him just a minute ago talking to that waiter by the stairs." Atobe tilted his head toward the direction of the waiter.

Tezuka followed the line of vision. "You sure?"

Atobe rolled his eyes elegantly, as if stating the obivious. "I don't wear prescriptions, Tezuka."

Tezuka stared at Atobe for a second before moving away. He was just making sure. "Alright, thanks."

"He asked for a female worker with brown hair. We have three people with that hair color, so I told him where he could find them." The waiter said. "One is on the upper deck, one is in the dining hall, and the other is on a bedroom cleaning duty."

Tezuka nodded a thank you before heading toward the nearest place, the upper deck.

"I saw him coming up here, but left almost immediately." The female worker there replied with a confused frown.

Tezuka went to the dining hall next, but he doubt the boy would be there since he just left that place a while ago.

"I haven't seen him coming in for breakfast."

It was not easy tracking down the last female worker with brown hair since there were many rooms on the yacht. Just as he was entering a hall, he heard his brother's voice.

"I don't care! Since my sister's your boss, then I'm also your boss. I say that you have to come with me, so you have to come with me. The others can take care of this room!"

"Tezuka-kun!"

Tezuka heard the feminine protest. Curious, he turned the corner and saw Ryoma dragging a resisting girl toward his direction. The female that his brother was dragging made Tezuka narrow his eyes. "Ryoma, what are you doing?"

Ryoma's head turned around while the female worker looked up in surprise. "Nii-San." He let go of the other's wrist quickly, who looked down with a horror stricken face as if she had done something wrong.

Tezuka stared at his brother, waiting for the answer.

"I need her to help me with something." Ryoma simply said, not flinching a bit that he was caught for bothering the female worker.

"And what is that?" Tezuka queried with an eyebrow raised.

Ryoma looked back at Fuji quickly. "Something." He mumbled out. He couldn't let his brother know that he wanted Fuji to teach him that move that countered his smash yesterday. He had thought about it before going to sleep last night. It was the first time that he had ever seen that move, and he was pretty sure that Tezuka wouldn't know of its existence. There was more to this Fuji girl than she put out and he was determined to reveal it all (by himself and to himself). If he mastered that move, then maybe he could beat Tezuka.

Tezuka wasn't convinced. "I don't think it's necessary for you to drag her like that. Are you forcing her?"

"…"

That answered it. Tezuka sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Mother is looking for you. Go to the dining hall." He ordered, leaving no room for arguments.

"Fine." Ryoma grumbled before walking away. He knew he couldn't argue against his brother.

After watching his brother walking out of sight, he turned back to see her rubbing her right wrist with a small pout on her lips. A smile rose at the corner of his lips as he approached her. "Are you alright?"

She looked up staring at him for a few seconds before she took a step back and blushed. He was too close, even though he was at least a meter away. "I'm alright." She spoke in a soft voice.

"Fuji Syuki, right?" He asked.

Fuji nodded with a smile, still unconsciously rubbing his wrist. He was surprised that Tezuka remembered his name.

"I apologize for my brother's impulsiveness."

Fuji shook his head. "It's okay. He didn't do anything wrong." He lied.

Tezuka obviously didn't buy it. "Does it hurt?"

Fuji shook his head and moved his hands behind his back.

"It's red. Maybe you should put some ice on it." Seeing how Fuji was trying to hide the commotion with Ryoma a while ago, he stubbornly insisted.

"It's nothing. It'll go away in a while."

"Are you sure? Ryoma can get very physical when he wants something, so I suggest you do something about it before it gets worse."

Fuji reconsidered. It did hurt and he could feel that it was going to leave a bad bruise.

"Come on; let's get you to the infirmary." Tezuka moved side way and tilted his head, urging Fuji to go despite the other's reluctance.

"I have to tell the crew leader first." Fuji said, pointing to a few rooms down.

"Alright. I'll wait here." He smiled.

Fuji's face heated up more as he turned around and walked briskly to find the crew leader.

It was a moment later that Fuji returned.

"Done?"

Fuji nodded.

They walked to the infirmary in silence with Fuji following behind. It wasn't that far. A woman in a white outfit greeted them with a big smile upon entering the infirmary. "What can I do for you, Mr. President?"

Tezuka stepped aside to reveal Fuji standing behind him. "Can you take a look at her wrist?"

"Sure." The doctor said, patting down on the soft clean bed. "Sit here and I'll take a look."

Fuji complied. The doctor threw Tezuka a glance dancing with mirth. Tezuka caught it, but glared at her, telling her to keep silence.

But she was the doctor. She wasn't affected by the no menacing threat. "I see that you finally found an interest to woo."

Fuji pondered in puzzlement. He had no idea what that meant. By the annoyed look on Tezuka's face, it showed that the statement hit a sore spot.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tezuka said in a firm, but small voice. He huffed as he took a seat.

"Oh you know well what I'm talking about." The doctor said while palpating Fuji's wrist, examining Fuji's expression as she gently pressed down. Fuji winced.

She put his hand down. "Looks like you're going to get a bruise, but it's not going to affect your work. I'll give you an ice pack for it." She rolled the chair across to floor to a small refrigerator, taking out a small blue bag. She rolled back to the bed and gave it to Fuji.

"Leave it on for a while and don't strain it too much. Tell your manager to give you a small break before going back to work."

Fuji nodded, smiling gratefully for the advice.

"Your smile is beautiful." The doctor commented off-handedly, taken Fuji by surprise. He blushed and muttered a thank you as he hopped off the bed. "I'm sure someone is taken by it." She looked at Tezuka while saying it, making Tezuka glare at her again.

"She's really nice." Fuji commented quietly once they're back out in the hall. Since Tezuka didn't show a sign that he was going to say anything, he might as well start up something to fill in the silence. By now, he had noticed that he didn't feel as shy as he was when he stood in face to face with Tezuka. It was easier for him to talk when he was at Tezuka's back.

Tezuka glanced at Fuji from the corner of his eyes. "I suppose." The doctor was nice indeed, but she could be unnerving sometimes, seeing how she could see through Tezuka's mask. Maybe she should have been a psychiatrist instead. He stopped in mid-step and turned around. "I can inform my sister about your condition if you like, since Ryoma did cause this."

Fuji shook his head. "I can use my left hand to work. I'm ambidextrous like you."

Tezuka's eyes widened a micrometer in surprise. How did Fuji know that? He was sure that he didn't use his left hand.

Seeing the confused frown on Tezuka's face, Fuji made a small chuckle. "I noticed from yesterday that you always held your tennis racquet in your left hand before every set. It looked like you were weighing your racquet." He explained.

Tezuka let out a small amazed smile. He got to give it to her. She was right. He had a habit of testing out the weight of his racquet at the beginning of every set. "No one had noticed that I'm left-handed as quickly as you did."

Fuji shrugged casually, happy at the compliment. "Everyone says I'm a good observer."

Tezuka smiled, relaxing his shoulders back as he took in the full image of the girl in front of him. She was unique, even the first time that he saw her. Something about her that pulled him in, like a moth to a flame. Maybe it was how she smiled almost every minute. Or the way she looked sharp, but innocent at the same time, even though her eyes were closed most of the times. He didn't know what it was, but he definitely would like to know more about her.

Fuji noticed Tezuka was silently staring at him. He dared not look up, feeling heat rushing to his face again. He hated when Tezuka do that because he couldn't control how his face turned red like a ripened tomato every time.

"Kunimitsu?"

Both heads turned to the voice. It was Yushi.

"Hm?" Tezuka turned full body to her.

Yushi didn't reply right away. Her eyes unconsciously drifted to Fuji, who seemed to be shying away, then to his wrist. "Is everything alright?" Her forehead crinkled in concern when something out of the ordinary caught her eyes. She came closer to Fuji, putting a comforting hand on Fuji's shoulder.

He stiffened a bit that went unnoticed. He nodded. "I was careless. I'm sorry. I'll get back to work right away." Right after he finished, he made a move to walk away quickly.

"Whoa Whoah! Hold on there!" Yushi managed to grab Fuji's hand, stopping him from going further. "I don't think you can work in this condition."

Fuji looked up at her. "I can." He insisted. "It doesn't hurt much." He wouldn't let a small pain getting in the way of his work. He was here to make money, and he would do his best to earn it.

Yushi's eyes drifted to the small nametag on Fuji's left breast. She smiled as she looked up into his face. "Listen, Fuji-chan." She squeezed Fuji's shoulder gently. "I don't like my employees to work when they're injured. Don't worry, I'm still paying you full salary if that's what you're worried about."

Fuji immediately cut in. "It's not that!" Yushi was taken by surprise at the sudden outburst, but quickly regained her composure and waited for Fuji to continue. "I just don't want to walk around doing nothing when I can do something. It's unfair to the others." He said in a small voice.

Yushi suddenly giggled, surprising Fuji. He stared at her, confused.

"Aww you're so cute!" She squealed, raising her fingers to pinch his cheeks lightly.

"Nee-san! What are you doing?" Tezuka hissed quietly, pulling his sister's hand away from Fuji's face.

"Oo, is Kunimitsu jealous?"

Tezuka had an incredulously look on his face. "Why are you drunk in the morning?"

"Oi!" She smacked his head, hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Fuji chuckled at the interaction between the siblings. They reminded him of his younger brothers. Oh how he missed them already.

"Come on Fuji."

Fuji was pull away from his thought by Tezuka. "Eh?" Tezuka called him without formality. He smiled happily.

"We're going to the court." Tezuka said before walking off without saying another word to Yushi.

Fuji watched Yushi sigh heavily after Tezuka. "That stupid brother of mine…" She then noticed that Fuji was still there so she turned to him and smiled widely. She took his hands into hers. "I leave him in your hands, ne? Please take good care of him!"

"Eh?" Fuji wondered what she meant by that. So far, all of the rich people that he talked to were so weird.

"Fuji!"

"I'm sorry. I have to go." Fuji said as politely as he could muster.

"Okay!" Yushi let his hands go and patted his head. "Have fun you too!" She waved after them.

Tezuka took Fuji back to his room to grab the tennis gear.

Fuji watched Tezuka punch in the code to his room. "Is it okay to come into your room?"

Tezuka opened the door, pushing it aside. He titled his head, telling him to go in, instead of giving him a verbal answer.

Fuji hesitated for a second. He looked around the hall and saw nobody around. He looked back at Tezuka's face and saw patience. He walked in.

His room was already nice, but Tezuka's room was amazingly different. He gasped at the chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. The sun light coming through the curtains by the balcony reflected the crystal, shooting a prism of rainbow colors along the walls.

Tezuka watched different emotions of surprise and joy dancing across Fuji's face. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He came up behind Fuji, placing a hand gently on the girl's shoulders. "I'll show you something better."

Fuji flushed at the contact, but he didn't move away. He hoped Tezuka would take his hand off fast or his heart was going to malfunction from beating too fast.

Tezuka steered him toward the balcony and slipped his hand off Fuji's shoulder. He swept the sheer curtains aside, letting the strong ray of sunlight hit them. Fuji had to hold a hand in front of his eyes to shield the brightness.

Seeing that, Tezuka boldly reached out to take Fuji's other hand. "Come." He guided Fuji out.

Fuji gasped softly at the electricity running from Tezuka's fingers to his hands, surprised that Tezuka was so bold. He didn't pull back, letting Tezuka to take him out. Slowly, shade fell over his head, and he let his hand drop to his side.

His eyes widened at the crystal clear water. It was an outdoor Jacuzzi lined with an aquarium of sea life. He took a step up to look at the bottom. It was like looking down at the ocean. There were all kinds of sea life swimming at the bottom and on the side. Around the Jacuzzi were small water outlets that looked like waterfalls, splashing down.

Tezuka stood in the shade watching Fuji touched and marveled his Jacuzzi. Too bad he couldn't see Fuji's face because the color of Fuji's eyes reflected the color of the sky-reflected water.

When Fuji turned around, his eyes were closed, but a thrilled smile was on his face. "It's beautiful! Better than what I saw last night. I've never seen something like this!"

Tezuka smiled as he listened to Fuji describe how amazing the Jacuzzi was. The girl was probably so excited that she forgot how shy she was in front of him to talk non-stop.

"You can." Tezuka suddenly said, cutting off whatever Fuji was saying.

"Eh?" A frown appeared on Fuji's forehead.

"You said you wish to try it out. You can." Tezuka repeated.

Fuji's face lit up for a moment, and died down a moment later. Tezuka wondered what went on in Fuji's head. "I can't." Fuji said dejectedly. He just remembered that he couldn't wear a swimming trunk without his gender being revealed.

Tezuka frowned slightly in concern, thinking that Fuji might feel insecure. "Why not? I promise you'll get this room to yourself whenever you're using it."

Fuji looked up, giving Tezuka a thankful smile. "Thank you, but it's not that. It's something personal."

Tezuka thought for a second before nodding his head. If Fuji didn't want to share what was bothering him, then he wouldn't pried further. "Alright. In case you change your mind, you're welcome to use it anytime."

Fuji nodded.

Tezuka smiled and went back inside, followed by Fuji. "Make yourself comfortable." He motioned over to the sofa in the sitting room. "I'll go get my tennis bag."

Fuji nodded and watched Tezuka entered another room through a door. He wondered if he should really take a look around the room since it had so many interesting objects that are foreign to him. But since Tezuka did say to make himself comfortable, then it should be fine.

There was a small family photo collage standing on a glass cabinet that held dainty crystalline objects. They all looked happy, although Tezuka didn't really look like he was smiling given that that was his appearance most of the times. He had met all of the members of the Tezuka family, and they were amazingly nice despite the fact that they're filthy rich. Not many millionaires and billionaires in Japan were nice in person even though they seem generous in public.

When Tezuka finished gathering his tennis gear and changing into more comfortable clothes, he left the room. Because he was a stealthily quiet person, Fuji failed to notice Tezuka's reappearance in the room. Tezuka watched Fuji going through the several tiny photo frames standing inside the glass case with an amused smile. He watched her letting out a small dainty chuckle when she moved down to where his baby pictures were displayed.

When Fuji stood straight up from his crouched position, the reflection of Tezuka's face from the glass case startled him, and he let out a gasp. "I didn't hear you coming back."

Tezuka shrugged casually, glad that at least he got to see how cute Fuji was when he was startled. But of course, he was not going to admit that out loud. "Not many people do. Let's go?"

Fuji nodded and followed Tezuka out. In the hall, they met Inui, who was about to enter his room.

Inui had a surprised look that instantly turned into a mischievous smile. If looked close enough he had a smirk on his face. He pushed up the spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "That's not fair. You copied me _and_ stole my caddy."

Tezuka only raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly. She's not carrying my bag." He pointed out with his usual stoic face.

Inui chuckled lowly. "Ah of course, and for different reasons too. Are you infatuated, Tezuka?"

Tezuka's eyelids lowered. "Not your business. Excuse us."

"Well, since you didn't deny..." Tezuka had already trailed off with Fuji. Inui shook his head in amusement. "I guess you _are_ infatuated."

Tezuka was glad that Inui was ridden of, but what he didn't expect was to see Ryoma in the gym.

"Why is she with you?" was the first thing Ryoma ask as he shifted his gaze between the two.

"Take a guess." Tezuka said dryly. He moved around Ryoma to get in.

Ignoring his brother, Ryoma turned to Fuji with curious eyes that were glinting like a cat's. "Why are you with him?"

Fuji gave him a sheepish smile; he didn't want to tell it straight to Ryoma that it was the boy's fault.

Seeing how Fuji was careful of what he should say to his brother, Tezuka decided to give his brother an answer so he could go away. "You injured her wrist. She can't work, so she's helping me with things."

Ryoma widened his eyes as he looked at Fuji's wrist. "I didn't do that on purpose."

"I know. Don't worry. It's not that bad." Fuji assured in a gentle voice seeing how Ryoma was going into a panic mode.

Tezuka watched his brother's strange behavior. Ryoma didn't usually get apologetic when it came to this kind of things. Normally, Ryoma would have said 'Your fault for not doing what I said.' Tezuka walked back to the two and tugged on Fuji's arm, motioning her to follow him. But before he walked away, he looked at Ryoma. "I think Oji-san wants to play chess with you."

Ryoma glared silently as he watched his brother and Fuji walked away. He knew that was another way of saying 'Go away. Don't bother us.' He humphed like a stubborn child as he continued to glare at his brother on the spot. "Always stealing what is mine."

Tezuka turned. "Come."

Fuji looked uncertain at Ryoma, not sure of how he should respond. In the end, he turned and followed Tezuka, leaving Ryoma to stand by himself.

Tezuka wanted to sigh heavily when Aoki came over to stand in front of him. She had a pretty smile but unfortunately, it wasn't her smile that he was infatuated with.

"You promised to teach me how to play tennis yesterday." Aoki said. She was already in her sweat shirt and pants, except that she didn't have a tennis racquet.

"..." Tezuka merely stared at her in silence, thinking when did he actually made that promise. As far as he knew, he was just agreeing.

"So...can you teach me right now?"

She sounded a bit pushy to him. Somewhere in his mind was telling him to tell her that he didn't make any promise because he usually didn't make promises to anyone else besides his family, but Fuji's presence was inhibiting that response. He cleared his throat softly, sparing a quick glance at Fuji as he spoke. "Sure." Somehow, it disappointed him to see that gentle smile didn't waver on Fuji's face. Maybe his conscience wanted something more. "Well, you'd need a tennis racquet to play."

"I personally don't have one, but can I take one of those on the wall?" Aoki asked, getting a shrug. She smiled widely and went to get a racquet.

Tezuka set his bag on the bench while motioning for Fuji to come over. "Sit here."

Fuji complied as he watched Tezuka reaching in his pocket and taking out his cell phone. Tezuka gave it to him. "I get a lot of texts, so do me a favor and reply to the ones that you're able to. Alright?"

Fuji frowned at the expensive device before looking up at Tezuka. "I don't think I know how to use it."

Tezuka gave him a very small smile. "You'll figure it out."

Just then, Aoki returned. "I trust you with it." He gave Fuji a gentle pat on the shoulder before walking to the tennis court.

Fuji could only sigh as he watched Tezuka giving Aoki some directions. He really wondered if Aoki knew how to play because the only responses she gave were a smile and a nod at everything Tezuka said. They took their respective sides of the court and started rallying.

A couple of minutes into the game, Fuji was tired of watching because Aoki was outright terrible. She had no gift, no talent, at all. If she did, she would be able to hit the ball by now. The missed balls bounced off the court so many times that he lost count, and he could sort of tell that Tezuka was getting agitated, but not so much that it showed on his face. It was more on how he only stood in one spot that whole time as if he knew that the ball he served won't be returned.

Fuji was disappointed that his wrist was injured or else he would be playing with Tezuka. A soft vibration jolted him from the game. The screened lighted up for a few seconds before going blank. "How does this work?" He mumbled to himself as he turned the device around to find buttons. There were only a few that could not be used to deliver a text. Fortunately, it didn't take him that long to figure it out. The text was from Inui asking what Tezuka was doing, so he had no trouble sending the reply.

"Hey there Ryoma!"

He evaded his sister's attempt to glomp him. "What do you want?" He glared at her.

"Awww!" Yushi cooed, clasping her hands together. Ryoma raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why his sister was so high this morning. "Is something bothering my little brother?"

He tugged down his cap, agitated by how she addressed him. He was not a kid anymore. "I'm not little! And leave me alone!" He cajoled her before moving away.

Yushi was relentless. She followed him and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Don't be like that. I might be able to solve whatever's bothering you. Now tell your wonderful Nee-san!"

Ryoma sighed irritatedly. He was about to yell at her, but stopped when something popped up in his mind. "Well..."

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

TYPICAL ROMANCE CHAPTER 9

Tezuka raised a questioning eye at his sister. "You want me to what?"

Yushi pouted childishly behind him with her arms draping over his shoulders as he stood with arms crossed. "Oh come on, Kunimitsu. I know you heard me the first time. Your hearing is as sharp as a diamond's edge."

Tezuka shrugged her arms off and turned around to head towards his closet in the room. "That doesn't make sense. Your analogy is getting more and more horrible as you age, nee-san." He could practically see his sister wanting to give him a good bonk on his head without looking at her. He continued with his task, taking out an outfit to change in after the tennis ordeal with his female employeee. "And..." He cut her off as she was about to reply with a comeback and turned around to give her a pointed look. "I prefer not to bare my body in front of an audience, especially to those of father's age."

As he walked towards the bathroom, he grabbed the towel draping over the chair.

"A man can never be revealing unless he swings the other way. It's perfectly normal and acceptable for men to trut around only in shorts, so what difference does a swimming trunk make?" Yushi followed her brother to the bathroom. "Besides, you're Adonis and you're going for a swim. That's what all men look like when they swim."

Sometimes, his sister's insistence on making him do what he didn't want to do was insufferable. He turned around and looked at her with a firm gaze once he was in the bathroom, successfully stopping her from advancing further. "Do you see me walking around top naked ever?"

She gave him a grin, hands behind her back. "No, but I'd like to see you more open and outgoing, not that I'm interested in you that way because incest is non-existent in my dictionary. Besides, I did see you top naked before. I taught you how to swim, remember?"

He twitched at her response. Really, she was really going over the top to tease him. "Nee-san." He punctuated. "I prefer to be decently dressed in front of men and women of all ages and relations, and I don't like showing off my body." With that, he slammed the door close on her face.

Her face showed surprise at the wind blowing at her face before her eyes slanted down in disappointment, but she wasn't giving up yet. "As a sister and a female, I'm going to give you a very wise advice, so listen up. Girls _like_ Fuji-chan fall immediately for a guy when she sees your kind of body." She knew what she said went through his head because the ruffling noise from him changing in the bathroom stopped. She smirked, thinking that she might be successful in making him change his mind, but the sound resumed and she was ignored. She wondered what went through his head.

"Do you remember that one time when you were 3 and Ryoma wasn't born yet?"

The door was immediately opened with Tezuka glaring at his sister. He was half dressed, with his pants properly tucked, but shirt unbuttoned.

She smiled with her arms crossed.

Tezuka hated the victorious smile on her pretty face. "I hate you." He pushed her aside and walked to the long mirror on the wall beside the closet.

Again, she followed him, but sat on the edge of his bed. "But the thing is, I know you don't." She watched him buttoning up his shirt.

"When are you going to stop using that to get me do things your way? That's very immature."

Yushi only smiled as she looked at her manicure. "However long it stays in effect, dear Kunimitsu." She looked back at him when he tucked in his shirt. "So is that an agreement to my earlier request?"

He glared at her in the mirror. "That was hardly a request, more so like an order." He grumbled at her.

Yushi stood up from the bed and came over to pat his shoulder with a winning eye smile. "Great! I'll see you at 2 sharp by the pool in proper swimming gear." With that, she trotted out of the room happily.

Tezuka sighed in defeat as he fixed his hair. Oh well, letting people see his body was much less embarrassing than letting them see him in female clothing, which was rather unsightly to be on someone as masculine and good-looking as him even at young age. He just wasn't meant to be dolled up to look like a female.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Fuji was back in the dining hall setting up the tables to prepare for lunch. He helped bringing out the wine glasses and flower vases to the table while the dining crew put arranged the many dishes on platters.

Like other meals, the guests started to come in at noon in formal clothing that reflected their status in the higher affluent community. Everyone was standing by the wall when they came in, out of the way so that the guests can take their seats. Once again, Fuji stood near the double kitchen door by the head chef, waiting until everyone settled down so that the platters can be announced.

After Inui finished his speech, he left through the double door and the servers followed him to serve lunch.

Fuji smiled warmly upon coming to his first assigned table. Aoki sitting there, was one of the guests along with other department heads and the only female. Even though she was sitting, it was obvious that the dress she was wearing was a snugly fitting cocktail dress that attractivly showed off her curves. He could tell that the males were trying too hard to get her affection and attention.

Fuji greeted them and set down the appetizer balanced on his right hand. He used his left hand to clear out the table. There was an unopened wine bottle on the table and a couple of wine glasses displayed in the middle.

"May I?" Fuji asked, with a hand moving towards the wine bottle, and was received with a couple of nods from the men and a smile from Aoki. He proceeded to pour the wine. When he was done, he excused himself to go serve another table that he was assigned to.

The entree came out 15 minutes later. Even though his right hand still hurt, he insisted on carrying a plate on each hand since everyone was doing so.

He dropped off one plate at a table before going to Aoki's table. Their wine glasses were almost empty. He eyed the guests and noticed that a few was slightly drunk by their red faces. He set the plate down and unconsciously flexed his right hand from the soreness.

"Miss," A man in his middle age called to Fuji from where he was standing. "Please pour Miss Aoki another glass." He requested and Fuji nodded his head.

Instead of using his dominant hand, which was beginning to feel numb, he lifted the second wine bottle and tipped it to the glass in Aoki's hand. As he did so, the man on his right with a tinge of redness on his cheeks, turned to his side and jabbed his elbow into Fuji's back, making Fuji lose his balance and the wine bottle slipped from the mouth of the glass and spilled onto Aoki's chest, who gave a loud shriek upon the contact as she jumped up from her seat.

Her first reaction was looking ghastly at her ruined expensive dress before looking up at Fuji with anger in her eyes. "Oh my God! What did you just do?!" Her tone rose, grabbing the spotlight in the dining hall. All noises in the dining stopped.

Fuji had his eyes wide opened. He couldn't believe that he just did that, to his department head no less, and she looked like she was ready to kill him.

All he could think was about getting fired on the spot. He couldn't utter a word out, still in shock, so he wasn't able to speak up in defense. He watched her mouth forming words at 40 miles per hour. The guests from the table also stood to come over to help Aoki wiping off the big wine stain that ran from her chest to her knees.

Aoki narrowed her eyes. Fuji wasn't responding as she thought he would be. "Hey! Are you deaf?" She pushed him by his shoulder, making him drop the wine bottle. It clunked on the ground before spilling out from its bottle. That jolted him back to reality as he shut his eyes. Tachibana rushed over to rescue the carpet from being more soaked with the wine.

Disregarding what was going on, Tachibana turned to Fuji and shook him lightly. "You're alright?"

Fuji nodded his head slowly and carefully. He still couldn't find his voice.

"Look what you did to my dress!" Aoki pulled Fuji's elbow to turn Fuji to look at her. When he did, he became scared. "How are you going to pay for this?" She pointed to her dress. "This is custom made by my grandma as a gift for me before she passed away. Even with your savings, you wouldn't be able to pay this off!"

"That's enough." A deep authoritative voice came from their left. All turned their heads.

"Atobe-san." Aoki looked at Atobe with a different emotion lacing her eyes, distress.

"This is just an accident." Atobe's eyes shifted to Fuji. "I'm sure Fuji-san didn't want this to happen."

"Then she should've been apologizing if it wasn't her fault!" Aoki looked at Fuji with hatred. "She's just standing there like she did nothing wrong."

"Maybe it's because you didn't give her a chance to speak for herself." Atobe said sensibly, successfully putting Aoki in her place. "Fuji-san, is there anything you'd like to say."

Fuji only looked at Atobe, face confused. He really wanted to tell them what exactly had transpired, but his brain wasn't working for some reasons.

Aoki looked at Fuji impatiently. "Nothing to say? You did that on purpose, didn't you?" She accused.

Fuji's eyes flew toward her with anger slowly reaching his core at the accusation.

At that moment, Tezuka stepped in. "I don't exactly know what happened, but something this small doesn't need to create trouble for everyone who are currently trying to enjoy their lunch."

Unexpectedly, Ayana approached them with a calm and gentle smile on her face. "My son is right." She placed a hand on his arm before taking hold of Aoki's hand. "I understand how distressing this is to you, but what's important is that no one is hurt, ne?"

Aoki pouted as she came by to stand next to Ayana. "You're right of course, but wine stain is difficult to rid of, and..." She got closer and whispered in Ayana's ear. "she put me in an embarrassing situation." Her eyes darted to other guests looking in their direction.

"Ah. An accident is an accident. Nevertheless, come with me and we'll find something for you to wear." Ayana placated Aoki with a pat on her arm. She turned to her son. "Excuse us."

Before Aoki turned to leave with Ayana, Tezuka stopped her with a firm voice. "We will talk about this later in private."

Aoki held Tezuka's gaze and nodded. She left the room without another word, but she didn't forget to throw Fuji a dirty look that went unnoticed.

Tezuka looked at Fuji. "You too."

"Come on, Fuji-chan." Tachibana tucked on Fuji's arm, pulling him to the kitchen. A few employees came over to clean up the mess as the people involved went back to their own seats.

Tezuka turned to everyone and sincerely apologized for the commotion that his employees created.

Once all of the food were out, Inui left the kitchen, thinking of bringing Fuji something to eat for the latter might be hungry.

He found her outside beside the kitchen door looking at the ocean with his legs folded to his chest and his arms around them.

"Hey." Inui said gently as he approached Fuji, who looked up with a blank stare. "Here, just in case you are hungry."

He handed the bento over to Fuji, who took it after a moment of hesitation and muttered a word of gratitude. He wasn't hungry, but he knew he should be since he hadn't eaten breakfast. He just wasn't in the mood for food. He stared at the steam rising from the rice.

"Judging from your reaction, it must've been your first time offending someone in public. It's hard, but don't be too hard on yourself. It wasn't your fault."

Fuji was surprised. He turned to Inui. "You know?"

Inui studied Fuji's face for a few seconds before figuring out what Fuji meant. "Well, I kind of guessed that it wasn't since you're a meticulous and careful person. I didn't think you'd do that on purpose."

Fuji frowned. "What do you mean? Why would I do that on purpose?"

"Tell me what happened first, then I'll answer your question."

Fuji didn't want that scene to resurface on his mind again, but since Inui was willing to listen, then he might as well release the anger of being accused. "One of the guests at the table asked me to refill Aoki-san's glass with wine. When I was about to, the guest on the other side of me pushed me forward, and I lost my balance. You know what happened next." He let out a heavy sigh, dropping his head on his arms.

Inui nodded. "Since it wasn't your fault, why didn't you say anything?"

Fuji pouted. "My voice decided to fail me at that time. I couldn't speak a word."

Inui chuckled and patted Fuji's head. "There's no need to mope. I'm sure you'll be fine, if Tezuka decided to interrogate."

"You think so?"

Inui gave him a reassuring smile. "I know so. Now eat before you become hypoglycemic. Girls these days, always starving themselves to look skinny."

At this Fuji protested indignantly, one he was not a girl, and two, he wasn't on a diet. "Whoever said I'm starving myself?"

Inui laughed. "Alright, alright. I was just saying girls in general. I need to go back, so enjoy your lunch."

Fuji glared at Inui as the chef stood up, but before leaving through the door, Fuji stopped him. "You didn't answer my question yet."

Inui smiled and left. "It's for you to find out." He saw Fuji with Tezuka that whole morning, including the time when Aoki joined them. It was obvious that Fuji had some attraction to the CEO, and it was mutual on Tezuka's side as well. And there was Aoki, who publicly showed everyone that she liked the CEO. _This is definitely a love triangle._

Fuji pouted.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tezuka went to find Fuji after lunch was over. He found Inui in the kitchen planning the next meal. His friend told him about the conversation with Fuji.

Tezuka replied with something that surprised Inui. "I know exactly what happened. I saw it."

Inui stared at Tezuka.

"What?"

Inui cocked his head sideway before smiling like he discovered something new. "Were you looking at Fuji-chan the whole time in the dining hall?"

Tezuka's face failed to betray his thumping heart, and it was a good thing. "I just happened to see it." He said with finality in his voice, but Inui didn't take it.

"Right." Inui turned away with a smile, unconvincing. "Anyways, are you doing anything about it?"

Tezuka sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I have to, or I won't have any peace in my workplace."

Inui nodded and spared a smirk. "Good luck with that."

Tezuka hated that smirk. It meant that Inui knew something, but he wasn't going to tell. He called Aoki and Fuji to his office, which was his room, right after he returned from the kitchen.

Aoki arrived first, wearing a cute white summer dress that he had seen somewhere before. Tezuka thought it looked pretty on her, but it would've been better on someone else because cute just didn't go right with Aoki.

"-the stain won't come off no matter how much I washed it." She sniffed as she sat on the chair, on the other side of the oak table.

Truth be told, Tezuka wasn't exactly listening as she droned on about her precious, invaluable dress. He really had no time for this, even if he was on vacation. But he was Tezuka, so this had to be taken care of. "I'm sure you can get it custom made elsewhere."

"But you don't understand!" Aoki protested in distress. "It would be meaningless if I get the exact replica to replace it. It's my grandma's thought that count. And she's not here..." Ah, the start of a water work.

Tezuka sighed inwardly. What did he do to deserve this torture? This was exactly why he was still single. He could never understand women and their emotion. In the midst of crying and sniffing, a knock came upon the door.

It was Fuji, looking nervous and scared. In all his life, this had to be the most serious trouble that he had gotten into. He nodded in greeting at Tezuka.

Tezuka signaled the chair beside Aoki, who was ignoring Fuji. "Sit."

Fuji walked over and sat down gingerly, in silence. His head hung low in demure. It was silent until Fuji decided to turn to Aoki and bowed his head. "I'm really sorry about your dress. Really sorry..."

Aoki scoffed, crossing her arms and refusing to acknowledge the apology. "If you were sorry, it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Not only did you destroy my dress, you embarassed me in front of everyone."

"I'm sorry."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow at Aoki as he watched the exchange. _Who embarrassed who?_

Aoki tsked, annoyed. "Don't you have anything else to say?"

Fuji caught himself before he said the same thing again. "What do you want me to do?"

Aoki looked at Tezuka, noticing that his eyes were on her. She wanted to make Fuji pay for the cleaning, which would cost a lot since she would have to send it to be done by professionals, and fire him, but she couldn't do that, not in front of Tezuka. She had to be forgiving and gracious. With much thought, she let out a long, heavy sigh. "Nevermind, what's done is done. There's no point making it a big deal." She noticed that Tezuka had an impressed look in his face, making her smile inwardly. She didn't know that he was actually glad that he didn't have to do anything to resolve this. After all, impressing Tezuka took immense effort.

Fuji was greatly confused at the quick change, but happy nonetheless. "Thank you, Aoki-san. I promise it won't happen again."

After the short conversation, Fuji quickly dismissed himself.

Aoki turned to Tezuka to see him looking at the door until it closed. "How did I do?"

Tezuka glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. He paused for few seconds before shifting his glasses and responded. "Very good. I'm glad you had it resolved quickly. Thank you."

She smiled widely. "That's just how I am. Ne sachou, I heard that you're participating in the swimming race, I'm going to cheer for you."

"Ah yeah..." He cleared his throat. "Thank you."

"I'll see you later, ok?" The last word came out too cheerfully. Tezuka only nodded.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tachibana was happy after hearing from Fuji. Although Fuji felt much better after letting out his worry to someone other than himself, he felt conscious and even intimidated of Aoki. He knew it was a matter of time until they returned to a regular day at work.

"That's going to be the day after tomorrow."

Fuji let out a long sigh. "Don't remind me." He let his face dropped into his hands.

Tachibana chuckled beside him. "Don't be like that. Since we don't have much to do at this time, want to go see the swimming race?"

"Well..." Fuji pursed his lips as he looked at the clouds.

"What's there to think about? It's better than sitting here doing nothing." Tachibana stood up quickly and pulled his friend up with him.

"Fine. Fine. Don't need to pull my injured wrist." Fuji yanked his arm back with playful grimace.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

More than half of the yacht occupants gathered around the glistening pool by the time Tezuka appeared in a white T-shirt and a black swimming trunk. A black cap was on his head. Dressing in this casual attire, he looked much younger than him in a suit. Yushi ran over to him and dragged him over to where his family sat under a sun umbrella.

Atobe was already standing by the end of the pool ready to jump in with other young men. There were also people on the top floor looking down from the rail.

A lifeguard with a microphone was in his high chair, waiting for all contestants to show up.

"Hurry and take off your shirt." Yushi fussed over him, trying to yank the shirt over his head, but their height difference really served as a big obstacle.

"Yushi, we have the whole day. Why the rush?" Ayana chuckled in amusement.

She turned to her mother and pouted. "If I don't take the initiative, he's going down the pool like that."

When she turned back to her brother, Tezuka already had his shirt and cap off. "You make it seems like you know everything about me, but even I know that it's not practical to swim with a shirt on."

Yushi scoffed. "Tsk. Ok hotshot."

Tezuka smiled at her before walking over to join Atobe.

Once Tezuka was out of hearing range, Yushi sat on the chair by her mother. "I still don't know how I managed to be his older sister with this face." She scoffed. Sometimes, Tezuka treated her more like a younger than an older sister. Age was really a bitter factor.

Ayana only smiled at her daughter as she turned to her husband. "Remember the first time you introduced me to your family?"

Kuniharu scrunched his face up as the memory flooded in. "Don't want to think about it. I thought they knew me better to say that."

Curious, Ryoma leaned over and asked his father with wide eyes and ears, "Say what?"

Ayana chuckled behind her hand. "Have you decided to become a pedophile?"

Spontaneously, they laughed.

"But father, you're only a year older."

"Exactly the point Ryoma, your father had always looked so old even when he was your age."

"Oy! Are you calling me old?"

"Well, I'm glad I didn't take after you."

Now, Ayana and Yushi really laughed good-naturedly when they heard Ryoma murmured, resulting in a whack on the head from his father.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tachibana and Fuji joined their fellow workers on the upper deck looking down at the pool.

"Brother. Fuji-chan." Ann had a surprised look on her face. She quickly pulled Fuji over to the rail. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?" Unfortunately, she was somewhere else instead of the hall at lunch.

Fuji thanked her for her concern. "Aoki-san decided to drop the issue."

"Honto-ni?" Ann looked shock.

Fuji nodded with a smile. "It's the only reason why I'm here instead of somewhere hiding in guilt."

Ann chuckled and hugged her friend. "That's great." Hearing the commotion from the lower deck, all turned their attention to the swimmers below. "Yay, it's starting!"

People crowded at the rail, getting a spot where they could see. It was a better view up here. They could see the silhouette of the swimmers under the water, 5 of them to be exact.

"Wow, Tezuka-sachou is so cool." Ann looked dreamily at the said man, who was in second place after Atobe. "He's so fast!"

Fuji only smiled fondly as Tezuka got first place on third round. Most people cheered loudly for Tezuka, mainly biased of their company president.

As expected, Tezuka won with Atobe closely behind.

"I knew our president would win."

"So lucky! We got to see his Adonis body!"

"It's totally hot!"

"Incredibly sexy!"

"Maa, I wish I could be his wife."

The conversations exploded after the race. Fuji agreed to most of the statements. They were all true and made him smile like crazy. He couldn't stop the joy spreading throughout his body hearing the praises toward his object of affection. He was glad that this was the man he admired.

"-ji-chan."

"Eh?"

"You ok? You spaced out of a sudden." Ann looked suspiciously at him.

Fuji chuckled nervously. Did that smile really look idiotic on him? "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"Everyone is returning to their post. We should too."

Fuji looked around to see that people have dispersed. "Yeah." He nodded. As they walked towards the staircase, Fuji saw a little boy and girl on the make-shift step at the railing. They tipped over the rail dangerously, but the smiles on their faces showed that they weren't aware.

"Ann-chan, I'll be with you in a moment."

Ann looked in the line of Fuji's vision. "Okay."

Fuji immediately walked over to the two before they could fall.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Hey, isn't that the girl that spilled the wine on your dress?"

Aoki turned and looked in the direction of the pointing finger. The moment she saw Fuji, she felt irritated. "So what?"

Her friend shrugged. "What's she doing with the kids?"

The shortest in the group chuckled. "Isn't that obvious enough? She's trying to get those two doing before they fall over and hurt themselves."

"Well, that's heroic of her." A comment came sarcastically.

"She's such a klutz. I wouldn't be surprised if she falls over."

Aoki's friends laughed. She watched as Fuji tried to persuade the stubborn kids to get off the step. In her mind, she wished what her friend said would come true. On second thought, wishing was a childish dream. She's more than capable of doing that. Smirking, she gathered the attention of her friends. "Should we come over and help?"

The shortest one had a worry look on her face, different from the rest. She knew Aoki didn't like Fuji. It didn't feel right hearing that coming from Aoki. Nevertheless, she followed the group.

"There are plenty inside, I can get you the exact one."

"But I want this one. It has a pretty circle on the top."

"Please, please, please!"

Fuji sighed before leaning over the rail with a hook in his hand. Apparently, the kids wanted to get the balloon decoration a couple of feet below the deck. They insisted not leaving until they had it. Fuji had no choice but to do it. The kids held onto the railing as they watched Fuji do the job.

"What have we here?"

Hearing the voice, the kids got startled and turned around quickly, stumbling to stand up from their crouching position. In the midst, they bumped onto Fuji, making him drop the hook. As he attempted to catch it, his body leaned down too far. The kids screeched as Fuji fell down the deck, heading towards the pool.

TBC

Replies to Chapter 8 Anonymous Reviews:

Asdf: that doesn't sound good, now I feel obligated to update faster. Me guilty as charge. Thank you for your review, it's be nice to know your name, ne?

Prince029: Can't tell you about Ryoma and Fuji yet, or even Atobe. You'll just have to wait, ne? Really sorry about the update. Don't know why I'm like this, sigh. Thank you for your review, because I'm glad that you thought of it that way!

Phoenix: oh boy, did you really? The story is pretty long, so it must took you few hours to finish, ne? Your supplemental plot sounds interesting, I'll take it into consideration, and you could be right with Ryoma. Who knows. Thank you.

Yel-chan: Thank you for giving it a try and like it. And I am terribly sorry for the late update. I know, I'm a bad writer for leaving it alone for such a long time.

Geebaby: thank you. I think you might be disappointed with the interraction, but just to give you a lil sneak peak, more TeFu next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

TYPICAL ROMANCE CHAPTER 10

The plunge down the clear blue water of the pool was beyond frightening. He was moving through the air so fast that his mind froze at the impending realization and danger of not knowing how to swim, much less float.

_Hit body dived into the deep pool with a loud splash_

He slowly lost consciousness, but before his eyes were completely shut, he saw a black mirage in the ripples of water coming closer to him.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

3 minutes earlier...

Tezuka received many congratulations once he got out of the pool. Being a prominent figure most of his life, getting embarrassed with overzealous praises was no longer an issue as it was back before junior high.

"Now that wasn't bad, was it?" Yushi had the winning smirk on her face that meant she won a bet of some kind.

"I haven't seen you swim since last summer. I didn't know you can still swim so well." Ayana complimented, giving him a towel to dry off.

"I'm your son. What can't I do?" Tezuka said, sounding way less cocky than if Ryoma were to say it.

Ayana smiled proudly at that before turning to Ryoma, giving her youngest an eyebrow raise and a challenging gaze. "Apparently that's not true with my other son."

Hearing that comment, Ryoma glared at his mother under the brim of his hat. "I'm better than Nii-san." He scoffed as he crossed his arms.

Ayana chuckled. "Ryoma-chan, you're still much shorter than Kunimitsu."

Tezuka watched joy dancing in her eyes. He knew she like familial interactions like this. But as she faced him, joy was instantaneously replaced with fear shown in her eyes. Her eyes widened and her mouth left gasping.

He had never seen her like this before. Immediately followed, a wave of shouts erupted.

"Someone fell into the pool!" It was 10 feet deep.

Tezuka heard the splash, but didn't see a body when he turned around. At that instant, he instinctively threw the towel aside and jumped into the pool, not noticing the lifeguard and one other jumping in at the same time as he did.

It was difficult to see clearly under water, especially when he didn't have the perfect eye sight, but he was pretty darn sure that it was who he was seeing. Fuji Syuki. That finding urged him to swim faster.

Silent whispers were heard as Tezuka reached the surface with an unconscious body in his arms. People came to the edge to help lift Fuji out of the water. They lied him flat onto the ground as Tezuka got out of the pool. He immediately pushed them aside to crouch down next to the unmoving body.

_He panicked, and he didn't know that he was._ All that was on Tezuka's mind was saving the girl in front of him. As he was about to put his hands on her chest to initiate a Heimlich maneuver, a pair of hands beat him to it. A look of confusion crossed his face as he regarded the silver-haired man in front of him.

"I'll do the chest compression. Give her breaths." Niou commanded the momentarily stunned president before initiating the compression right away. Truth was, when he saw who it was taking a plunge down from the top floor, he stayed at the scene, running through his mind for different plans to save Fuji's identity from being exposed. This quick thinking brought him here.

There was no room for discussion. Tezuka tipped Fuji's chin upward and blew 2 breaths of air into the awaiting mouth after 30 compressions were delivered.

It continued well into 3 minutes before Fuji spluttered out water and regain partial consciousness. He coughed and felt himself being lifted up. When he looked up, the first person coming into view was his friend. "Niou." He whispered out in shortness of breath.

"You're okay." Niou smiled down in relief as he cradled Fuji to his chest.

As Fuji tried to return the smile, he fainted. There were cries round him, but Niou assured them after checking Fuji's ABC. "She's okay, just passed out." Niou quickly gathered Fuji into his arms when he saw Tezuka making the move to take Fuji from him. He received a questioning stare from his boss and readily supplied the answer. "She's my school friend. I'll take care of her."

Again, Tezuka was left no room for discussing as Niou took off, feeling slightly ticked off with Niou's appearance.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

When Fuji woke up, he found himself in his cabin under the cover and in dry clothes. He gasped and sat up quickly when he realized that someone changed his clothes and must've seen him nude. Before anymore thoughts, his door opened to reveal a smiling Niou with a tray of food in his hand.

"Hey."

Fuji slowly smiled at him. "Did you..." He started and paused as he watched Niou putting the tray on the table.

"I think you owe me a hell of a favor." Niou leaned back on the table as he looked at Fuji with a smirk.

Then, Fuji realized it that Niou was his savior. He chuckled softly. "Thank you. I do owe you one. So nobody found out?"

Niou shrugged. "As far I know, no one, but..."

Fuji's eyes widened in anticipation. His heart hammered against his chest.

"When you were brought up from the pool, I'm not sure if your savior felt your fake chest when he had his arms around you. I mean, I could certainly tell when I gave you the chest compressions."

"Wait...you mean you weren't the one to rescue me from the pool?"

Niou nodded. "I didn't. It was Tezuka-sachou."

Fuji gasped. "I thought it was you."

"Well, I could have but he was closer and faster..." Niou trailed off when he saw the fear flashing on his friend's face. "Don't worry, I don't think he found out though."

"How do you know for sure?"

Niou blinked and thought. "He didn't say anything." A strange thought then came through his mind. "But if he did, the worse that's gonna happen is you getting fired. Why do you look like it's the end of the world, it's not like he likes you or you like him..." Nious trailed up when Fuji's expression and what he said connected. "What? Don't tell me that-"

Fuji peeked a shy look at Niou's unbelievable expression.

"Shit! So you like him. Like, like like him?" Niou was now sitting beside him on the bed.

Fuji nodded slowly. "Don't tell anyone this."

Niou let out a long sigh when he saw the pity face Fuji pulled. "So, your employment at this company is solely because of him."

Fuji shook his head. "Not entirely. I need the money too."

Niou dropped his hand on Fuji's head. "Alright. Since I'm _your_ friend." Fuji giggled at the slight tease. "I'll do you another favor."

Fuji couldn't be any more thankful. He was glad that he had a friend in this strange crowd.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

Tezuka had returned to his room to shower and dress. Now standing at the balcony of his room, images of the situation earlier kept flashing through his mind. Three of his fingers ghosted over his lips, relishing on the feeling of Fuji's lips that still lingered on his own. He didn't realize how their lips molded perfectly together when he gave Fuji air then, but now that he did, it actually felt...right.

_That was my first kiss_.

Not entirely true, because they were rescue breaths, not kisses. Tezuka sighed as he dropped his hand and walked back inside. He felt ridiculous.

Ever since he first saw romance between his friends, he had become aware of what love was all about. He then noticed the shy glances girls threw his way as he walked by and the brave innuendos. He now understood those feelings that were unidirectional harbored for him, because he was now walking in the same path of those admirers. It was ridiculous.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

The pearl-colored purse bounced on the bed in a fury and hit the headboard with a soft clank. The bed was sunken as Aoki dropped her bottom on it. Her face creased in all places that were unpleasant. Anyone who happened to walk in would say that she was beyond furious. And she was.

Fuji's fall did not make her guilty at all. In fact, she was quite pleased with the result as she waited for him to hit the bottom of the pool. She didn't have a death wish for him, but merely wanted to make him suffer. She knew Fuji would be rescued by the lifeguard. However, what she didn't expect was for her object of affection to be Fuji's savior. Now, she wished she hadn't done what she did because the moment she saw Tezuka's lips on Fuji's, she was too furious to stay and watch the rest.

Aoki closed her eyes, looking calmer without the fire blazing in her eyes, but her respiration contradicted her calmness. It was deep and forceful. She tried to even out her breaths slowly. Her eyes opened once again when she succeeded in composing herself.

"Just you wait. No one can take anything away from me without going through hell." Fuji's face popped up in her head.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

When Fuji woke up again, he saw An laying on her bed reading a book. At the rustle, she turned towards her cabin partner and put her book to the side. "You're awake."

Fuji nodded. "What time is it?" He was certain that he didn't feel any pain earlier, but now he did. His chest hurt. He rubbed it in circular motion.

"10 past 9. You missed dinner."

Fuji jolted up. Had he really slept for that long?

Feeling Fuji's tension, An smiled and reassured him. "Don't worry. Tezuka-san said you are excused for the rest of the day."

Fuji's face fell. He was glad that he didn't have to get back to working in this condition, but he'd rather be earning money. After all, that was the whole point of this trip. "Looks like I'm getting a cut in my paycheck, so much for being here."

At that, An chuckled as she stood up and walked over to sit on his bed. "Is that what you should be worried about right now?"

Fuji raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

"You were injured after all. Niou-san told me that you have a bruise on your chest when he changed you." An made sure to observe Fuji's face as she talked. She found it strange that Niou refused her to care for Fuji since they were both females. Looking at Fuji's face now, he wasn't at all affected by the fact that an opposite sex saw Fuji nude.

Fuji placed a hand over the area that hurt. "It pains a little when I breathe."

"The doctor wanted to see you, but Niou-san insisted that you were fine and didn't need any further medical attention."

"Ah."

Fuji's lack of reaction made her confused. "Fuji-chan...are you and Niou-san together?"

"Eh?" Fuji widened his eyes. "What makes you think that?"

An pulled back. "You didn't feel embarrassed or show any emotions about Niou-san changing you out of your wet clothes. He's a guy, and you're a girl."

"Oh." Fuji slowly smiled. He placed a hand over hers. The contact made her feel a bit weird as a blush came onto her face. She didn't know why the mere touching of their hands made her feel so. It wasn't a normal reaction because this was the first time she felt this way towards a girl's touch. "We're good friends."

An seemed to accept that as she nodded her head. "Do you want to see the doctor now? I can get her for you."

"What? no no no." Fuji shook his head vigorously.

"But what if you have a broken rib?" An pressed, seeing concern overriding Fuji's face. That was an unusual response. Was Fuji afraid of the doctor?

Fuji smiled as he patted his chest. "See? I'm fine."

An looked at him suspiciously before standing up. "Okay then, my break is over. I have to get back. I'll get someone to bring you food."

Fuji nodded and thanked her. He let out a sigh after she was gone. "Ow~" He rubbed his chest with a wince.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

"Come on, Nee-san." Ryoma tagged his sister as she walked down the corridor towards her room.

Turning to the door, she got out the key card from her pocket and swiped to unlock the door. As she turned the knob, she looked sideway at her youngest brother to see a pout on his lips. "If you want to visit her, why don't you just go by yourself."

"That wouldn't be right because her cabin would be in the female vicinity." Ryoma stubbornly insisted. "Please Nee-san. It'd be quick."

"You know I'm expected in the ballroom right now." Yushi walked into the room, leaving the door ajar for Ryoma to walk in, and he did.

"You just have to walk me there, then you can leave right after."

He received a raised eyebrow from his sister at the suggestion.

"This is not practical." Yushi mumbled as she got a dress out of the closet and walked to the bathroom to change.

"I don't care. I'm not leaving you alone until you do what I asked." Ryoma replied. His voice was laced with his renowned stubbornness like the brat he was. He leaned against the door as he waited for Yushi to come out.

Yushi wasn't surprised to see Ryoma was still in her room deliberately wanting to be a nuisance. She sighed. "Fine. Let's go before I'm _too_ late."

As they walked towards the employee's cabin, Yushi couldn't help but noticed the now bright smile on Ryoma's face. "You are smitten with her aren't you?" A smirk was on her face when Ryoma's cheeks colored in pink.

"I'm not! She just has something that I like. And besides, she's Nii-san's age. That's too old for me."

Yushi laughed softly. "You're too cute, Ryoma."

Ryoma huffed, throwing a glare up at Yushi. "I'm not."

"I hope your intention is not to get whatever you want from her because she's tired enough to deal with your bratty self."

"Why do you always see me as a troublemaker?" Ryoma murmured under his breath.

"D5. Here it is." Yushi anounced as she spun her heels to face the door. With a smile, she knocked on the door and heard a muffled invitation. "She sounds tired." Yushi whispered before letting them both in.

Fuji sat up and pulled the cover up as much as possible. Seeing his current employer surprised him. "Tezuka-san. Tezuka-kun."

Yushi inclined her head as she came closer to sit on the edge of his bed. Her eyes held a gentle gaze as she placed a hand on his knee. "You've suffered twice today, one after another. I hope you're not frightened too much."

Fuji shook his head and return the smile. "I'm fine, just a bit shocked, but not frightened. Thank you for your concern, Tezuka-san."

"That's good to hear."

"Though..." Fuji casted his gaze on her hand on his knee. "I'm sorry for being useless. I'm supposed to be working, yet I'm here doing nothing."

Yushi reached for his hand and held it in hers, compassion and understanding in her eyes. "Don't say that. You've been doing very well, and I really appreciate it. I also want you to know that even though you're resting, you are still getting paid because it counts towards worker's comp."

Fuji looked up in surprise. "...?"

Yushi looked over her shoulders at Ryoma, continuing her speech. "Ryoma wants to stay a bit if you don't mind?"

"No, that's fine, and thank you."

"You're welcome, and I apologize for being rushed, but I need to go." She patted Fuji's hand before putting it down.

Fuji smiled nostalgically. Yushi reminded her of Yumiko greatly. "Thank you for personally coming here."

Yushi smiled and nodded, accepting it, as she stood up. "Make sure you get enough rest, and if Ryoma bothers you, just kick him out, okay?"

Ryoma immediately squeak indignantly. "Nee-san!"

Yushi chuckled as she gave them a wave and left.

Ryoma glanced over at Fuji to see a smile sending his way. He forced a fake smile in anxiety of being in a room with a female unrelated to him. "So, umm, are you okay?" He asked gingerly, adjusting the cap on his head.

Fuji nodded. "Just a little tired, but I'm fine." He subconsciously rubbed his chest. "Thank you for asking."

The action didn't go unnoticed. "What's wrong with your chest?"

"Eh?" Fuji was momentarily confused but as he looked at his chest, he realized. He chuckled quite forcefully. "It's nothing."

Echizen looked skeptically at Fuji before relenting. "Anyways, I know you're unwell right now, but I have a request." At Fuji's nod, he continued. "I really like your tennis style. Would it be ok if we play again sometimes after this trip?"

"Pardon?" Fuji was surprised. Tennis was the last thing on his mind right now. He could see insistence in Ryoma's eyes as they looked at him, waiting for an answer. He knew he wasn't bad, but for Ryoma to be interested in _his_ tennis style, that was a surprise. "Umm...I don't know..." He looked apologetic towards Ryoma.

Ryoma then plopped down on his bed and took Fuji's hands into his. He looked like a desperate child. "Please. Please. Please. Please be my tennis coach."

Fuji sighed. "I'm really sorry. Work gets very busy for me, and I don't have enough time for it."

"Where do you work? Can you ask them to shorten your hours? Because I can pay you when you're with me. Just please!"

Before Fuji could reply, the door open and An walked through, initially surprised at another being in the room. "Tezuka-kun."

Ryoma looked at An and blinked, hoping to linger long enough to shoo her away.

Since it was Tezuka's brother, An felt frighteningly nervous as she fidgeted with the tray of food in her hands under his stare. It sure made her uncomfortable.

Fuji then cleared his throat, which got Ryoma to lift his gaze off An, but back to him. "An is my roommate."

Ryoma nodded wordlessly, as if he didn't care much for that information, which was partly true.

"Wouldn't you say hi?" Fuji nervously urged the young boy, who seemed to fixate on him and made it awkward for An.

"Oh." Ryoma nodded and slowly turned back to An. "Hi."

Fuji smiled at An. "Is that for me?"

An nodded. "Umm. I was going to ask someone to bring this for you, but Inui-san insisted that I bring it to you."

"Ah, if you see him again tonight, please tell him that I said thank you."

An nodded with a smile before putting the tray on the table. "I'm going get back to work." She could feel Ryoma's stare on her, but she didn't have enough bravery to look at him. She kept her gaze on her roommate.

"Thank you."

After An left, Ryoma's attention was back on him, but the subject changed. "Don't get out of bed, I'll bring the tray to you."

Without waiting for an answer, Ryoma got up and did what he said.

Fuji looked at the boy in wonder at how he could be so demanding, yet innocent and cute, just like Akaya.

"Here." Ryoma settled the tray on Fuji's laps, receiving a smile that he readily returned. Even though he didn't bring the tray from the kitchen, but moving it so that Fuji could have dinner in bed made him feel elated because he had done Fuji a favor.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself." Fuji started, to get a mostly one-sided conversation going while he had dinner. He couldn't have Ryoma sitting there watching and waiting for him.

By the time it got late into the night, Fuji managed to keep Ryoma talking about things besides the earlier request. It was killing two birds with one stone. The second bird was a peek into Ryoma's family life. He didn't expect or intend to find out more about Tezuka through Ryoma, but since the younger brother was here and voluntarily offered it, he might as well give a listening ear.

When Ryoma left, Fuji fell back to sleep, dreaming of coming home.

Not once, as Ryoma walked back to his room, had he thought that what he did for Fuji was to please the older. In fact, it was out of a natural act that he acted like a brother caring for his sister.

"Where are you going?"

Ryoma stopped in his step and turned to the source of the voice, which was right behind him. He quirked an eyebrow up at his brother. "What?"

"How are you going to get in without the key card?"

Ryoma scoffed. "I have it right here." And turned back to the door to swipe, but the door didn't open. A confused frown marred his face. "What the...? Why is it not working?!" He swiped it over and over again.

"You're opening _my_ room door...with _your_ key card." Tezuka drawled out as he watched his idiotic brother keeping trying to open the door.

"Eh?" Ryoma took a few steps back and looked at the number on top of the door frame. _Damn_

He stepped aside, keeping his gaze to the ground as he muttered. "I uhhh well...good night!" He ran back to his room and quickly unlocked it before entering with haste.

Tezuka stood watching as his brother disappeared from sight, wondering what was wrong with Ryoma.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

Soon, vacation ended, and Tezuka was once again found where he always belonged, his office. Since the day he rescued Fuji, he hadn't seen the employee again. He had been busy thanking the guests for coming and sending them off at the dock while Fuji was busy cleaning up the cruise.

There was no work for the company that day, but Tezuka wanted to stop by and visit it since it was like his second home. Being away from it for a few days made him miss the routine company life.

The pile of awaiting documents still lied on his desk like how he left them. Lifting through them, he was reminded, not that he needed it, he just wanted to confirmed it the dates, of their due dates that were a 2 days from now. He then checked his calendar on his desk at all the appointments made in advance for the month and next. None tomorrow.

Once he was done checking a confirming a few other things, he left, looking forward to tomorrow.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

Fuji plopped down onto the sofa in his sister's home with a relieved sigh of finally being at a familiar place. The closed his eyes and smiled in contentment and suddenly wanting to fall asleep even though it was a bit past 2 in the afternoon.

Yumiko came into the living room with a cold bottle of water in time to see Sasuke walking by with luggage in hands. "I can't imagine work was difficult for you the past 72 hours." She tossed the bottle softly on Fuji's belly, earning a yelp.

"Careful with the injured." Fuji chastised jokingly with a soft glare at his sister. His hands were fumbling with the cap on the bottle, opening it after a couple of seconds.

Yumiko thought it was a joke, but dismissed it at the way Fuji opening the bottle with somewhat difficulty. She didn't reply immediately as she watched Fuji drinking from it. "What happened to your right hand?"

Fuji widened his eyes very subtlely as he brought it down and recapped it. "Nothing really. Just the heavy platters that made it a bit sore." He hoped it satisfied her.

"Let me see your hand." Yumiko held out her hand. When Fuji simply looked reluctantly at it, she bent her fingers and beckoned him to hand over his hand, in which he did with a sigh.

Yumiko examined it. She was not a nurse or a doctor, but getting a flinch when she felt around his wrist gave her a slight idea of what might have happened. "This doesn't seem like nothing." Her eyes hard on him when she saw slight discoloration.

Fuji fidgeted and took his wrist back, rubbing it soothingly. "It's not dislocated. Someone pulled me, tried to get me somewhere, nothing intentional." He defended, not wanting to identify who it was.

"Alright." Yumiko relented. "Did you have lunch?"

Fuji shook his head. "Saved my stomach for your home-made food." He gave her a cheeky smile, making her shake her head.

"Such a bother." She teased, but he knew that she loved cooking. "Go change out of your disguise and it'd be ready."

"Okay, Yumiko-nee-chan!" He saluted her with a wide smile.

Yumiko laughed. She rubbed his head as she walked out.

Fuji let himself fall back onto the couch. "Home." He was happy to be back.

Once he had a quick lunch and returned everything to Yumiko, Sasuke drove them both to their parents' house.

His little brothers were ecstatic to see him back. Akaya didn't want to let go. He clung to Fuji-side and didn't let go until he was deep asleep.

Fuji carefully slipped out of the room and came to the porch. Sitting down, he pulled his outer wear closer to himself at the chilly air.

Right at that moment, Yuuta came through from the front door. He was surprised seeing Fuji sitting on the porch. "Nii-san, what are you doing up this late? Aren't you tired." He resumed a seat besides Fuji.

"Couldn't sleep, maybe the trip upset my circadian rhythm."

If Yuuta paid attention in science class, he would have known that explanation was not correct. "Oh, that sucks."

Fuji only smiled. Even though he voiced out that he would support in whatever Yuuta decided, he wished Yuuta would hold out in school longer, until he had some sort of degree. He couldn't have Yuuta treading on the same path he had. Cross-dressing wasn't fun and not something to be proud of, even though it provided income. "What have you been doing in the past few days while I was gone?"

"Eh..." Yuuta chuckled dryly.

"Spill it and be honest...does anyone know?" Fuji's voice held no amusement.

Yuuta shook his head. "Not yet. I just got the job today, and it's a...bartender at a night club."

If it wasn't late into the night, he would already yelled out in surprise. Instead, he blinked incredulously at Yuuta, who looked sheepishly at the ground.

Fuji looked around to confirm that they were indeed alone, and whispered harshly. "Are you in the right mind?" He hissed. He didn't care what Yuuta did as long as it wasn't something bad, immoral even.

"I didn't." Yuuta protested quickly. "I was going on a job hunt, and bumped into a guy. He offered me the job."

"Yuuta!" Fuji emphasized in a quiet voice. "No normal guy comes up to you and kindly offer you a job. Why didn't you ask Yumiko or Kura-nii for help?"

"They're gonna tell me to go back to school." Yuuta said, feeling sad and disappointed that even his best sibling was against this. He didn't like it either, but he had thought about it. He was only going to work as a bartender, and from there, he'd try to get connections before branching out into a profession that was more acknowledgeable. "Plus, you said that you're going to support me,."

Fuji let out a frustrated sigh, almost pulling out his hair, but Yuuta was right. He did say that, and he was a man of his words. "Fine." Fuji swallowed. As he turned to look at Yuuta, he noticed how deflated Yuuta looked. He didn't like the way Yuuta looked like he was going to give up. "Only as a bartender. No drinking. No dancing. No strip-."

"Nii-san!" Yuuta hissed, raising his hand over Fuji's mouth to stop the older from going on about embarassing things. "I said just a bartender. Not a-a-you know."

Seeing his younger brother flustered, Fuji let out a light-hearted laugh. It got muffled by Yuuta's hand, but it was retrieved when it became moist from Fuji's breath.

Yuuta grunted in disgust, wiping his hand on his pant.

"Yeah yeah. But you still have to promise me that you're not going anywhere beyond that, please?" Fuji's face became serious again.

Pleased and happy at how it went with Fuji, Yuuta smiled and linked their pinkies. "Promise."

"Good. Go get ready for bed."

"What about you?"

Fuji looked up at the moon and sighed softly. "I'll be there in a moment."

Yuuta nodded and left silently.

The moon was full and bright tonight. Usually the sight of it made him feel at peace and happy, but the thought of returning to work under Aoki made him dread for tomorrow.

**TBC**

AN: Merry Christmas!


	11. Chapter 11

TYPICAL ROMANCE CHAPTER 11

Glancing into the mirror at the reflection of Fuji, Yumiko could see the blank expression on his face, as if he was in deep thought, but of what, she didn't know. He was definitely acting strange today. On normal days, the young man would rush her. Deciding that whatever it what that was on his mind wasn't a greatly troubling and pressing issue, because otherwise he would be giving her more hints about it rather than just sitting there quietly, she continued to brush his hair and styled it with a side-swept bang.

"Honey!"

Simultaneously, both Yumiko and Fuji looked towards the direction of the voice that was coming from outside.

"I need to head out soon! Are you done with Syusuke?" Her husband yelled out in question.

"Hai!" She responded before smiling to her brother in the mirror. "Tell me what's on your mind after you get back, okay?"

A bit too quickly to answer, Fuji answered in denial. "There's nothing on my mind."

"Don't lie." She reprimanded as she motioned him to stand up and go out.

Fuji humphed, no use in continuing if she already knew. He thought. Though normally, he would go at it with her until Sasuke had enough and decided to step in. Yumiko had also noticed this unusual difference in her brother.

"Call me if you're staying late so Sasuke can pick you up. Don't give us a scare like last time." She said as she gave him a hug at the door. "Otherwise, I expect you to be back before 7, okay?"

"Hai!" Fuji smiled, playfully saluting her before turning to run towards the car.

Sasuke was already in the car in the driveway. He waved back when Yumiko waved at him.

After Sasuke had dropped him off, Fuji felt like it was a burden to go inside, especially when the memory of him and Tezuka at the yacht party was so vivid. He didn't know how to act or what to expect from the President. Should they act like friends, or should they act formally towards each other if they saw each other?

"How long are you planning to standing there like a constipated monkey?"

Fuji recognized Niou's voice from behind him.

"Niou!" His mood instantly brightened at seeing a good friend in the company. Then he realized what his friend had referred him to. He shrieked and smacked Niou on the head. "Constipated monkey?!"

Niou laughed at him. "Kidding! No need to be so violent. Sheesh! Girls these days!" He exclaimed rubbing his poor head from repeated injuries inflicted by his shorter friend. He pouted at the frowning Fuji, who had his arms crossed.

"Who are you calling a girl? Old man?"

"Why it's you my dear Syuski-chan!" Niou teased and sprint aside to avoid getting another hit. Just when Niou took a step sideway, Fuji mis-stepped and bumped into someone. He looked up and saw a familiar face.

"Alright, lovebirds. You're stalling traffic long enough. Now let's move on before we're all late for work."

Fuji recognized the person as one of Niou's friends on the floor.

"What? You jealous?" Niou mocked, scrunching up his face in annoyance as he yanked Fuji away from his co-worker's grasp.

Fuji huffed and whacked Niou on the head.

"OW! The hell?" Nious sharply turned to Fuji, who was threatening to hit him again if he spoke up.

"Jealous? What was there to be jealous about?" He growled at his friend before darting his attention to Niou's friend with a sweet smile that made Niou scoff in disbelief at Fuji's good treatment towards his co-worker. "We're not lovers and will never be." He corrected. "And you." He turned back to Niou. "Don't mess around at work. I don't want to be parts in any rumor concerning you, especially." Not when it could reach Tezuka's ears.

Fuji huffed and left the two at the entrance and entered the building. He was about to head towards the elevator when he spotted a group of people walking from the entrance door to his right also heading towards the elevator. Amongst them was Tezuka. The others were possibly board members. He noticed how Tezuka stood out from the group, not to mention that he was the CEO. There was an air of authority about Tezuka that made him look superior above the rest with his back up straight, chin up high, and eyes full of determination. Occasionally, Tezuka would nod and opened his mouth to respond that was no longer than 2 sentences.

When the group passed him, Fuji turned slightly sideway to avoid being seen from the front. When they passed by him, he slowly followed behind them as they were heading towards the same destination when his wrist watch beeped in alarm, reminding him that he had 5 minutes left before he could be late.

"Shoot!" Fuji exclaimed to himself. He couldn't run to the elevator and steal the first ride with Tezuka being there. It would be so embarrassing. He took his only option and ran towards the staircase. That would take him up to the floor and avoid facing Tezuka at the same time.

Fuji ran through the door to get to the flight of stairs, missing a look from a certain person trailing after his figure.

Fuji ran across the floor to Aoki's office. Running into the room, he came to a halt and about to apologize for his 1 second tardiness when he saw her staring at him in disinterest for a second before returning her attention back to the call from the phone pressed up against her ear.

Fuji sighed inwardly, hoping that he didn't anger her again. He shuddered, thinking about that incident on the yacht with her expensive dress. He was lucky that she didn't make him pay for it because if she did, there went his 2 paychecks at least. He had absolutely no idea how much it cost, but he had an inkling that the dress was very expensive considering Aoki was the one wearing it.

Quietly, he sat down at his table and started organizing the files that were already placed on his desk.

0..o..0..o..0..o..0

"Skipping school again, Tezuka-kun?" Ryoma glanced over his shoulder at his friend Kintaro Toyama, a redhead with an attitude as snarky as Ryoma himself.

"Technically, I'm not. Class doesn't start in 3 hours." Continuing walking out of the school campus towards the parking lot, Ryoma took out his phone and texted his other friends to meet them up at the tennis court at a park nearby.

Toyama raised an eyebrow when he shot back a snide comment. "Well, technically, I said school, not class."

"Are you coming or not?" Ryoma hissed when he noticed Toyama was till walking behind him and chose to ignore that comment.

Toyama scoffed.

"Then hurry up. You walk slower than a damn slug."

The school had its own set of tennis courts for the tennis club, but they were always occupied. As such he always played at the park. It was near school and within walking distance. And he was notorious for playing there, so no one had dared compete with him for the courts.

When they got there, their friends were already there waiting for them.

There were 6 of them altogether. "So, how do we split up this time?" Hikaru Zaizen, a dark black spiky hair youth that was a year older than both Ryoma and Toyama. He had several ear piercings on both sides of his ears that made him look like a typical school rebel.

"I'm not in the mood for double." Ryoma said, swinging his racquet back and forth. Depending on the number of people they had, the matches could be split up in all possible ways. And of course, Ryoma didn't mind whether he played double or single.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at Ryoma, perhaps wondering what's up with Ryoma to make him so snappy already. "Okay. Hirakoba, didn't you want to play singles too?"

A long-hair male, oldest of the group nodded from his position on the floor as he looked through his tennis gear. "I'll play Tezuka."

"The rest of us just play doubles then." Everyone nodded in agreement before splitting up.

"Court 4?" Hirakoba asked although he already knew the answer. Ryoma always had to play in court number 4, and no one knew the reason why he was adamant about that court. "It's occupied." The long-haired male stopped short to make a statement. He glanced to the younger tennis player to see a frown hidden under the cap.

"I can see that." Ryoma said distastefully, not happy at seeing his court taken right before his eyes. "Too bad it'll have to end early." He smirked and continued his way over with Hirakoba in tow.

When Ryoma stepped inside the court, the ball was hit over the court, looking like it was going to be out. Quickly, Ryoma swung his racquet and hit the ball over the fence, drawing attention to himself from both tennis players, interrupting the current match.

A guy with a scar in a form of an x stormed over to him angrily and demanded. "What the hell was that?"

"Oh, it's the street dog." Ryoma tipped his cap up and smirked cockily. He could recognize that hateful face anywhere.

Yuuta couldn't believe his luck. Just on the day that he decided to go out and play tennis for the first time in 2 weeks, he had to see that dratted rich kid. He gritted his teeth. Fists balled angrily.

"You're on my court. Get out." Ryoma spat, face hardening.

Yuuta glared. His blood was starting to boil at having to encounter the rich spoiled and cocky male again. "This court is public property, and it doesn't have your name engraved anywhere on it."

A displeased frown descended over Ryoma's face. "I don't need evidence to show you that this court belongs to me. Now get out."

"You little-" Yuuta gritted out, about to retort when his friend held him back.

"Come on Fuji. Let's just find another court. I don't want any trouble."

Yuuta not once lifted his glare from Ryoma's face, same for Ryoma.

"Listen to your smart friend, idiot."

Yuuta was now seething in anger, feeling extremely unfair at having to suppress himself from acting rashly in front of a rich scum, thinking he had authority over everything just because he was rich. He felt a tug on his arm before hesitantly leaving.

"Dumbass." Ryoma muttered as he walked to his position on the court. He looked up at Hirakoba. "Rough or smooth?"

Hirakoba held a smile as he shook his head in disbelief at Ryoma's attitude. "Rough."

0..o..0..o..0..o..0

"What's with that smile on your face?"

Tezuka looked up. Atobe was apparently sitting on his couch in his office with a cup of coffee in one hand. The other was holding his expensive smart phone, probably looking through his agenda for the day/week.

"I wasn't aware that you have an appointment with me today." Tezuka said flatly, not at all interested in his friend's presence at his place early in the morning. He ignored the initial question.

Atobe scoffed. Nose high in the air. "Only the people make appointments with Ore-sama. Not the other way around."

Tezuka scoffed back as he sat down at his table. "Seriously, what are you doing here?"

Not sparing Atobe a moment of his time, Tezuka began his work for the day. His secretary had already started his computer and got all of the proposals set on his desk waiting for his signature.

"Ore-sama is bored."

Tezuka's eyes strayed from his computer screen for a short second. "Bored?"

There was a moment of silence before Tezuka spoke up again. "Go home Atobe."

"Really, Tezuka?" Atobe smiled as he sipped his coffee.

"Yes really. What kind of fun things do you expect to do here?" Tezuka muttered as his fingers flew across the keyboard in precision.

"Ore-sama can think of one." Atobe's eyes lit up. He put the mug on the coffee table and stood up.

"What?" Tezuka's gaze held at Atobe's side view. He was a bit curious to know what it was.

"There's this certain person Ore-sama interested in." Atobe confessed. His left hand in his pocket while his right hand came up to his tie knot to loosen up the clothing accessory. Though looked less formal, he was still handsome. "And Ore-sama's going to find this certain person."

"One of my employees?"

"Why else would Ore-sama be here on his day off?" Atobe raised a questioning eyebrow as he tipped his head back to look at Tezuka.

Tezuka shrugged lightly. "Just don't be a bother to whoever that is."

"Ore-sama is never a bother." Atobe waved a hand up in the air before leaving through the door.

Tezuka shook his head at Atobe's egocentrism and Casanova character. When he went back to look at the computer screen, he stopped short and remembered what he saw earlier. It was the sight of Fuji hurrying through the door that led to the staircase. Seeing her again made him remember what had occurred over the past few days on the yacht, especially that rescue kiss that he gave her.

Now that he was back in his safe zone, where working was his favorite motivational factor in life. He had a clearer mind to think about what the things that he did on the yacht were quite irrational for him, who was least interested in dating, romance, and female. Then all of a sudden, a woman came into his life so unexpectedly that he had no time to sort out his feelings properly.

Was it attraction? But what exactly attracted him to Fuji that made him feel protective and caring towards her. It was just very unimaginable and new for him.

Sighing, he pushed all thoughts away and focused on the piles of paperwork instead.

0..o..0..o..0..o..0

It was a spectacle for the employees to witness the lady of the Tezuka coming to visit the company. The older employees would know that Tezuka Anaya had once stepped foot into the company at least a decade ago with the small young master holding her hand. She had now appeared, dressed in a pearl-colored silk dress that draped her gorgeous body, despite her age, like that of a Greek Goddess. The soft material flowed down like rivets of water. This get-up made her look more ethereal than some had seen her on the yacht.

Kaido, who happened to cross the lobby at that time quickly came up to her with his head inclined. "Ayana-san. I wasn't notified that you'd be coming today."

Ayana smiled and touched his shoulder lightly. "There's no need for a welcoming ceremony and do not be disturbed by me. Just go back to do what you were doing."

Kaido gave her a confused look before muttering out, "I am on my way up to see Tezuka-shachou, maybe I can accompany you."

She shook her head ever so gently. "I'm here to see someone else."

Feeling somewhat awkward in front of his boss' mother, he politely excused himself.

"That child is always so revered and polite. Sort of like Kunimitsu." Ayana commented with a motherly smile.

The two women accompanied her nodded in agreement.

"Ja. Let's be on our way."

The stack of files in his arm was heavy as it looked. Despite being a male with more advantage to the population of the 4th floor, the heels really made everything more difficult. Fuji noted in his mind that he would ask Aoki later about wearing heel-ess footwear. He used his elbow to push the button beside the elevator to go up and waited.

The light illuminated on the numbers above the elevator moved from left to right before stopping on number 4. The elevator opened.

Fuji took a step forward. For a millisecond, his eyes went round behind his eyelids as he stared at his boss' mother coming out of the elevator. She gave him a recognizant glance and smiled before sweeping passed him.

His eyes trailed after her until she went into Aoki's office. Once she was no longer in his sight, he suddenly remembered what he had just done and flushed in embarrassment. He had gaped like a goldfish at Tezuka-shachou's mother like an idiot.

Hoping not to see her again lest he embarrassed himself further, he quickly went into the elevator, heading up.

Not long after Fuji's elevator took him to the topmost floor, the elevator beside it dinged and opened. Atobe stepped out with a sunshine smile on his face. A woman immediately recognized the heir and went up to him.

"Good morning Atobe-san. May I help you?"

Atobe swept his eyes over the floor before looking at her. "Is Fuji Syuki in?"

She had a surprised look on her face for a short moment then with a confused mind, she replied. "Fuji-chan just stepped out for delivery. Would you like to leave a note for her."

"No." The smile was gone and he sighed. "Thank you." He went back into the elevator and the button back to the top floor.

Aoki wasn't one to flinch easily for her headstrong personality, but the unannounced presence of Ayana caught her by surprise. She immediately shot up in her seat and automatically smoothed down her skirt and hair to look more presentable. He face froze a bit, but was quickly overcome with a smile. "Ayana-san."

Ayana nodded and smiled back, taking Aoki's hand as they walked over to the couches in the room. They sat in front of each other and one woman came in with two cups of tea. "Forgive me for not knowing that you're coming. I feel guilt for not preparing accordingly to welcome you."

An elegant laugh rang in the room. "Non-sense. How could you know if I hadn't let anyone else know." She reprimanded with jest. Her eyes wandered around the room, taking in the decorative internal design of the office. "The ambiance of this room is very calming and the decoration is very well-chosen." Though commenting, she assumed that it was all Aoki's work. What she didn't know and wasn't corrected was that Aoki had brought the decoration in, but left it to Fuji to do the arrangement.

Aoki smiled. "Thank you."

"Your taste in style matches very well with mine." The smile on Ayana's face was pleased. "Before I forget." She turned to one woman and held out her hand. A paper bag was promptly handed over. Ayana placed it on her laps and pulled a white paper box out. "I know you felt bad about that dress, as it was from your grandmother. There's nothing can replace items that are sentimental to us. I can relate to that, but I want to give you something else to make you feel better."

The box was placed on the table and Ayana opened it, removing flaps of tissue paper to reveal a yellow-sheer layered on white sleeveless dress. The front where a collar should be was covered with a blossom holding the neckline together, resembling a halter top coming to tie in the back, and a low cut was on the back. The dress, standing up, flowed down to touch the floor and blanket out.

"This is beautiful." Aoki gasped.

"I design this dress a few years back, but never had it released. I thought it would be a nice gift for you."

It was something Aoki could never hope for. Although she preferred cleavage-showing attire, this dress was on another level. Demure in the front, flirty in the back, just like how she was. She hadn't expect any of this to happen, as she was still planning how to seduce Tezuka, but the opportunity came straight to her without putting out any effort. She knew then that she had a trump card in her hand.

"I love it!"

Ayana watched a squeal of laughter and happiness lit Aoki's face as she stood up to press the dress to her body. "Go try it on."

Aoki was gone in a flash and came back in an instant.

She let her head nod in approval at the sight, standing up and coming closer to look at one of her masterpiece. The dress looked very beautiful and elegant on her, just as Ayana imagined. Going around to stand facing Aoki, she took the other's hands. "You look beautiful."

A shy smile spread on Aoki's face, making her look like an angel, yet inside it was nothing like it.

0..o..0..o..0..o..0

"Ryuzaki-chan." Fuji greeted as he stepped up to the counter where the secretary sat.

"Ah. Fuji-chan!" Ryuzaki eyed the pile on Fuji's arms, immediately knew what they were. She extended her hands out to receive the files, putting them next to the keyboard. "Thank you for bringing these files up so timely. I also have some files I need to deliver back to Aoki-san if you could just wait here while I go get them."

Fuji nodded and watched Ryuzaki went into the big office, leaving the door opened. He heard Ryuzaki's voice, then heard Tezuka's deep voice in reply.

Not knowing why, heat crept onto his face, just by hearing that manly voice. Ryuzaki reappeared not too long after with a pile half the size of what he brought up and deposited them into his arms.

"Aoki-chan will know what they are once she sees them."

Fuji nodded and was about to turn to take her leave when Tezuka stepped out of the room. Kaido followed from behind and breezed pass them all.

It was then that their eyes connected and Fuji felt frozen in place. A second later, Tezuka's eyes drifted to Ryuzaki who looked clueless at them. "Please prepare a meeting room. Yamato Enterprise is on their way over."

"Hai, Tezuka-shachou." Ryuzaki left at once, leaving the two now standing quietly in the vicinity.

Fuji berated himself for not leaving right when the files were initially handed over to him. Why didn't he just leave then so that they wouldn't be standing here together, alone and not knowing what to say.

"How are your injuries?"

The question took him by surprise, but didn't show it. He kept his gaze to the floor. "They-they're almost fully healed now, thank you for asking. And..."

Tezuka waited.

"I heard from Saeki that you saved my life. I couldn't thank you sooner because of the circumstances, so thank you." He bowed.

Tezuka smiled and stepped closer. Though internally, he wondered forebodingly who this Saeki was in relation to Fuji.

The moment Fuji heard footsteps, he flinched and looked up to see Tezuka now standing less than 1 meter away. His feet remained frozen in place as Tezuka's hand reached out to rest on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're ok."

Fuji blushed at the contact, which brought his body back in control and he stepped back, letting Tezuka's hand fall back to his side. "I-I must g-get going."

He turned around and blindly ran into Atobe who stood by the elevator with a blank stare in their direction. Fuji mumbled an apology and ran into the elevator, pushing number four and willing it to close faster.

"You're still here." Tezuka pointed out the obvious. No surprise or any other emotion was in his voice.

Atobe looked at his friend with no hint of no amusement. "What was that all about?"

Tezuka raised a questioning eyebrow as he let his shoulders fall back and back straightened up. "What was what all about?"

Atobe narrowed his eyes.

"I thought you said you had something to do, why are you back here?"

Atobe finally let out a fake smile and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Ore-sama was looking for someone, but you let that someone get away."

Tezuka didn't understand and scoffed. "Absurd." He murmured and turned to go back into his office.

Atobe left soon after, suddenly lost interest in today's pursuit. Tezuka once again killed his fun, like how it always happened when they went out.

0..o..0..o..0..o..0

Aoki wasn't in the room when Fuji returned, so he left the files on her desk. As he was about to go back to his desk, his eyes caught sight of a box with yellow/white fabric flowing out. His curiosity took him over. He gently fingered the soft and silky material, thinking how nice it felt under his finger pads. He daringly held the dress up and let his eyes widened at the beautiful evening gown that could be mistaken for a wedding dress if not for the yellow color.

The sound of heels clicking jolted him out of the blue. He quickly put the dress back and moved across the room just in time for Aoki to come through with a bright smile on her face. She stopped to regard Fuji for a short second. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the dress. Her smile grew wider when she looked back at Fuji.

"I-I've b-brought back files from Ryuzaki-chan."

Aoki nodded wordlessly. Although pissed at Fuji for embarrassing her on the yacht, she had to admit that the outcome wasn't entirely bad, especially when Ayana personally came to see her. She was now one step closer to get what she wanted and she had to thank Fuji for it, though she would never said it out loud.

0..o..0..o..0..o..0

On the way back to his own company, Atobe's mind wandered back to the scene early between Fuji and Tezuka. _What went on between them? _

Being friends with Tezuka for so long, he knew his friend was almost afraid of female, especially how the man tried to avoid touching and being near them alone as much as possible, with an exception of situations regarding business like how Ryuzaki was always with him.

So seeing Tezuka, for the first time, voluntarily touching a female, albeit just an innocent touch on the shoulder, was one heck of a shock for his eyes.

_Does that mean Tezuka's attracted to her?_

The thought brought him back to the conversation he had with Tezuka weeks ago about a blue-eyed employee. Tezuka had said no, but how could he said no when he obviously knew Fuji.

Atobe was confused.

Though he had a fair share of women, dating, and relationship, he had never felt such strange attraction to Fuji compared to those of his past lovers and flings. And that made him feel unsettled. He was determined to get his feelings sorted and find out what was going on between his friend and the girl.

0..o..0..o..0..o..0

"I heard you went to the company."

Ayana looked up from the plate of salad.

The family was having dinner all together, which was not a common daily occurrence with Tezuka busying himself in the company late some nights.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you let me know?"

"It was nothing. I just decided to give it a visit, since I hadn't been there for so long. Fortunately, Sora was so kind as to show me around."

"Sora?" Tezuka raised an eyebrow in question.

"Ah. It's Aoki Sora. She allowed me to call her by her given name. Isn't that nice? A beautiful and kind girl like her, I wondered why she's still single and not married."

A disconcerted feeing rose within his heart seeing the motherly smile on her face and hearing this, so he opted for silence.

Ryoma and Yushi exchanged a confused glance, even though they had an inkling what the hidden intention behind those words.

Later when everyone was getting ready for bed, Tezuka silently went into his sister's room. She was in front of her vanity table putting on night cream. At the sight of her brother reflected in the mirror, she turned around and swiftly even out the cream on her face.

There was a troubled look on his face. She had an inkling to why he was here in her room late at night when their parents were already in bed. He took a seat on the chair by the window. She could tell he was nervous by the way he hesitantly walked and the subtle sigh and quick breathing every now and then. Standing up, she joined him by the window. "Are you alright?"

There was a hesitant look in his eyes as if he was debating whether he should tell her, but the whole point of telling her or not would be defeated since he was already in her room. "I..."

He trailed off, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked into her eyes. "I need help."

Yushi had her eyebrows raised. She crossed her arms and sat back. "Well then, what can I help you with?"

Tezuka had both hands fingering each other on the table as he looked down. "I think mother favors Aoki." He began. "Though I cannot be sure of what's going through her mind, I have a bad feeling that she's going to match-make me and Aoki."

Yushi would have laughed if it wasn't late in the night seeing the horror flicked through her brother's eyes. She decided to tease him a bit. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing to be matched with Aoki-chan. She's a beautiful, smart, and cultured young woman. You'd be lucky if she ever wants to be matched with you."

Tezuka frowned disapprovingly and glared at his sister. "I'd be lucky if I have nothing to do with her."

"Really though, she's not bad for a partner. Why wouldn't you want her?"

Tezuka thought about it. What his sister said was true and he couldn't deny that Aoki was a very wanted young woman among men. She was beautiful and an ideal girl in terms of looks, but she would make a horrible partner with her temperamental personality. At least, to him that was how it was. He disliked clingy and talkative girls with no talent (especially in the realm of tennis). That girl was all brain, no character.

"She has no character." At last, he decided on what to say.

"Oh?" Yushi threw him a challenging gaze. "What do you mean by that?"

"She doesn't know how to play tennis." Now that was dumb reason, Tezuka only realized it after he said it.

"Kunimitsu," Yushi said with a deadpan voice. "You cannot expect all girls to know how to play tennis."

Tezuka didn't answered right away. "You know that besides the company, there's nothing else that I'm interested in other than tennis. If she doesn't know how, then there's no chance."

"Then, does Fuji-chan play tennis?"

Yushi watched a blush rose on his nicely sculpted cheekbones and laughed when he spluttered incoherently. It was like watching her brother being all nervous talking about first love in the teenage years.

"I don't know."

She chuckled softly. "So, here's what I gathered. You say that you don't like Aoki-chan because she cannot play tennis, but you like Fuji-chan anyways even though you don't know if she plays tennis or not. This is quite biased, although I have not a clue how it is biased. So explain to me, dear brother."

Tezuka's mind was jumbled every time Fuji was mentioned. There really was no explanation for his strange affection towards Fuji. He just liked her, even if she didn't know how to play tennis. With Aoki, it was a different story. When he thought of her, he couldn't help but have standards for her, knowing that she couldn't meet those standards with her life on it.

Sensing his quietness as a result of his deep contemplation, Yushi spoke. "When you like someone, you don't need a reason why..."

Tezuka looked on silently. "Because you like everything about that person, so you cannot chose which characteristic you like most. That's called liking someone unconditionally."

"What should I do then?"

"Goodness Kunimitsu. What do you think you should do? Ask her out!"

Tezuka's eyes widened. His mind freaked out at how scary that sound. He had never asked someone out before!

Yushi sighed and shook her head. "Boys...this is why I'm still single."

**TBC**

I had a heart-stopping moment when this file didn't open in word, thought I lost it all! Thank you everyone for still following and reviewing!


	12. Chapter 12

A word of thanks to those who still read and follow this story! Thank you **sugoiauriga, itssoMELISSA, moribayashi, vegibee, supremekikay24, Kandaimio, sairakanzaki, shizu03, Kurayami-9, I Love Fuji, geebaby, fujiyuki, shinjuku041, Tora-shin, lemon-and-chai, MoonLuna2009, **and** Guest**.

Longest chapter. ENJOY! And don't forget to drop a REVIEW telling me what your favorite part is! This is the fuel for updates!

TYPICAL ROMANCE - CHAPTER 12

Breakfast was at 7. Any day of the year, he would be down in the dining room 10 minutes before minute hand landed on 12, but today he was wrapped up in thoughts of how to woo a love interest, something he never thought he needed to resort to. He had all night to think about it, but he still hadn't an idea of what should be done. He ended up standing over the sink of the adjoined bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror for a good 15 minutes, which he would called otiose on regular basis. Who would have thought the supreme Tezuka Kunimitsu to let his guard down over this matter.

From top to bottom, he was clean and crisp: hair neatly combed, yet had a tousled look to it, and body was clad in a black suit with a white button up and grey slim tie. He was ready for another day.

A look at the wall clock again, he sighed disappointedly at his blank and non-creative mind. It was close to 7. He left the room and headed downstairs to where the dining room located. There were cheerful voices coming out as he neared the room, wondering what had his mother so lively this morning. One step into the room, his brows knitted together in a strange kind of surprise that was laced with confusion and disbelief. His jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"Kunimitsu!" Ayana waved her oldest son over. She was sitting at her usual spot at the dining table, but the person sitting next to her was not part of this usual morning picture.

"Tezuka-shachou." Aoki stood up to greet him with a slight incline of her head. She couldn't help but let a wide smile appear on her face. Tezuka looked just dashing this morning.

Tezuka, in turn, slowly and hesitantly nodded in acknowledgement. _What is she doing here?_

Seemingly to read his mind, Ayana promptly said. "I invited Sora over for breakfast. It was last minute, but I am glad she went out of her way to make it. Isn't that nice?"

Tezuka could only nod, noncommittally.

Smiling diffidently as she raised her head up, Aoki looked at Tezuka. "Thank you for having me."

He twitched ever so lightly. Fortunately, the rest of his family came in at that moment to sit around the table. A maid brought out the last dish before everyone picked up their utensils and started eating.

His mind was elsewhere, but he left a bit of his attention to his surroundings in case someone would strike a conversation with him. Ayana chatted happily away with Aoki while his father and sister conversed about her business. Ryoma...Tezuka felt a light nudge at his hand and drifted his gaze over to Ryoma.

'What?' Tezuka silently asked the question through his gaze and received a cocky smirk with a slight head incline towards Aoki's direction.

Ryoma loved to rile people up, especially those who rarely failed to lose their cool composure like his brother. He didn't do it often, but when he had a chance, he never let it go.

The message was clear. _You're screw_ was what Tezuka deciphered from the smirk. He resumed eating and ignored everyone and everything else, hoping things would be better after breakfast ended. Unfortunately, it didn't end there.

"Since you both are heading to the same place, why don't you give Sora a ride Kunimitsu?" It wasn't a question but an order from his loving mother.

Tezuka watched mirth dancing in his mother's eyes while his mind and body went into a frozen state. It took a lot of his will power to shake out of this trance. "I need to take Ryoma to school. She'd be late for work."

Ayana gave him a gentle reprimanding look with her eyelids lowered slightly over her eyes. "How late would she be? And besides, she's with you and you're the CEO. It shouldn't be a problem."

Tezuka gave his mother his famous 'don't let your guard down' stare/glare.

His mother immediately understood that he didn't and wouldn't play favorite. "Alright then, Yushi can drop Ryoma off on her way to work. That way, no one is late."

Ryoma smiled and decided to pitch in. "I can go with Yushi-nee-san, aniki."

Tezuka wanted to toss his little brother in a dumpster and let the brat rot for eternity at that moment. He knew he was at wits end, so he used the only reasoning he could think of. "It'd be inconvenient on the way back since I _will_ stay overtime today." He didn't know for sure if he even needed to stay the extra hours, but it would likely be. Just because he had a hunch it would be.

Ayana smiled at Aoki. "In that case, Sora can help you with the extra paperwork so that you can finish early and don't need to stay late."

Tezuka was really out of excuses, so he looked to the other only way out. His sister.

Yushi caught the desperate plea that went unnoticed by the rest of the people present. "Actually, mother. I cannot drop Ryoma off today." Ayana raised a questioning brow at her. "I have a business meeting with a client first thing this morning. It's time sensitive. And I also believe that it'd be inconvenient for them to leave in one car and return at different times. Besides, if others can do Kunimitsu's work, then Kaido-kun would be the first one to be elected for such. Right Aoki-san?"

Aoki was ruffled at the sudden question at her. The smile and gaze directed at her from the youngest Tezuka female pinned her to an imaginary wall that prevented her from saying anything else that wasn't an agreement. "Ah-h yes." She then turned towards Ayana. "It's alright Ayana-san. It's better that we go in separate cars. After all, we are bound to see each other at the company anyways."

Ayana frowned, not liking how Tezuka was blatantly worming his way out of her arrangement. She knew he hated to be matched, yet he never brought anyone home to appease her. A mother had got to be tired of waiting for a daughter-in-law, and now that a perfect girl showed up, she was going to do everything she could to put the two of them together. "Hmph...alright, if you say so." The smile was back on her face. Everyone then got ready to leave for another day.

One look at Tezuka, Ryoma knew his brother was mad at him, for the silent treatment since they entered the car was obvious. The ride was without a word. A classical station on the radio filled the silence.

It was the usual routine once he stepped into the building. People on the administration board surrounded him as he made his way to the elevator, taking turn telling him about progress or new things that went on. But today, he was only half listening. Everything suddenly seemed unimportant as his thoughts drifted to the beautiful closed eye smile that he wished to see at the moment to make his gloomy day brighter.

By the time he reached his floor, the only person left was him and Kaido. He was greeted by Ryuzaki the moment he stepped out.

She narrated his schedule for the day from the elevator to his desk, just like how efficient she always was. Less than half an hour at work, he already knew the day was going to be busy.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"You have a management meeting at 10."

Aoki nodded to the information. Her eyes rapidly scanned the computer screen while her eyes listened attentively to her schedule for the day.

After a quick moment of silence, Aoki shifted her gaze onto Fuji. At the same time, she picked up a USB and held it out for him to take."Look over this presentation and make sure its coherent and there are no mistakes or typos. Then print 10 sets of hard copy. Get them done before you start on today's report."

"Hai, Aoki-san. Lastly, your mother called before you came. She would like to have lunch with you and your father at Gemini."

There was a strange glint in her eyes that borderline frustration as she tsked softly under her breath. She nodded for Fuji to take his cue to leave.

Once he was back behind his desk, he started proofing the presentation right away to have it done on time. Although it was only 9 AM, the copying machine could be swamped. Sometimes, the women of the 4th floor would yield the machine to him if they contented themselves with waiting for a couple of minutes. Otherwise, he would have to suck it up and chanced getting yelled at for not finishing the assignment on time, and it only happened once. It was enough to make him cross out procrastination from his habit.

20 minutes later, he was out of the door, briskly walking as fast as his heels permeated. Just as he half expected, which he had wished it wouldn't be the case, several post-it notes were stuck on the door to the resource room where the machine was located. Each one had a time and a name to which pretty much said that there was a line, and he would need to get his name on a post-it note if he wanted to make copies.

Half an hour left, he looked at the watch on the wall. He wouldn't have the copies ready to go by then if he started putting himself on the waist list.

He half ran to the elevator, pressing number five. He hoped that there wasn't a line like the fourth. However, his jaw dropped at a piece of paper taped on the door to the resource room.

The copier was broken...

Without wasting time, he e tried for the sixth floor. The copier wasn't broken, but there was no more white blank paper in stock anywhere on the floor. If he went down the fifth and came back up, it would take the same amount of time to just go to the next floor up, so up he went.

Floor seven was nothing less than a busy market in the early morning. Even before he stepped out, 3 people zoomed by him, nearly knocking him over and causing his skirt to fly along the breeze gently. Sweeping the state of the floor, he then realized that it was that time of the month that required the seventh floor to submit project proposals in relation to expansion and sales increase. It had been bad for the floor since the floor's genius/mastermind went on leave for the entire month.

The elevator slid shut and took him up to the next floor. The eighth was quiet, a state of norm for others but not for this floor. It wasn't supposed to because Niou was the department head. There must be something going on as he took in the sight of the orderly state. All doors were closed, and everyone was working diligently.

It was then that he saw the minute hand on the giant number eight of the clock on the wall. He made a beeline towards the copying room. He knew where it was because Niou had taken him on a tour of this floor once.

A few heads follow Fuji's figure. They sighed with longing and pity that they couldn't flirt today. When Fuji was out of sight, they turned back to the computer screen.

It took him close to 15 minutes to get all 10 sets put together. The moment he was near the elevator, it started to close, so he ran, shouting without a thought of grace. "Wait!" His voice seemingly echoed in the still room. "Please hold the elevator!"

Heads turned his way, but he couldn't care less.

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw a hand holding the edge of one metal door, causing the double door to open up. He slowed down as he neared the elevator.

"Thank you-" He said quickly in a breathless voice before he actually had a good look of who was so charitable. When he did, his smile froze in place. _Crap..._

"Sha...chou."

He found Tezuka's eyes hard to read, but they looked like they were reproving and glaring at him. He swallowed hard.

"Ahem!" Fuji's eyes shifted to one of the other occupants. It was Niou, eyeing him to get in fast.

"Ah, I'm sorry." He quickly secured a spot beside Niou, but also beside the president himself.

"Your floor?"

He realized belatedly that it was 5 minutes before the management meeting. They were all heading to floor 10. Niou reached out, about to press 4, when Fuji place a hand on Niou's arm. All eyes present moved to the sight.

"It's alright. You'll be late for the meeting. I'll go back down later in my own time." Fuji spoke softly in a whisper, but since it was such a small space, everyone heard him clearly.

"You sure?" Niou whispered back and received a nod. "Okay...but what were you doing on the eighth?"

Fuji let out a sigh, totally not aware of Tezuka's side gaze on him the entire time. Every subtle move of her body didn't go unnoticed from his eyes.

"I had to get this done before the meeting," He indicated with a lift of his hands, where the pile of paper resided at the moment. "but there was a waiting list for the copier down on fourth, so I went to fifth. Only to find out it was broken. Then I went to sixth, where the bad luck continued. Paper was out. I could've gone back down to get a stack, but thought I might as well go up another floor so that I didn't have to go down and up then down again. Well...as if that wasn't a problem already..."

As the conversation went on between the two, the other occupants thought with envy about how close the two seemed to be and then finally remembered that Fuji was the girl that fell into the pool during the anniversary party. They remembered it was their shachou saving the girl, but it was Niou who whisked her away.

"So you went to seventh next..."

Fuji nodded.

"Let me guess. It was chaotic."

Fuji chuckled and nodded again. "I forgot it was that time of the month, and realized it too late. Good thing my adventure stopped at eighth. I'd be more late otherwise." Niou smiled with him.

The elevator stopped and opened on tenth. Fuji took a quick stride out of the elevator to give the other occupants the right of way since she was in the middle front, blocking the exit if she was to remain.

Not a second out of the cubicle, he felt his arm yanked to the side so now he was faced with stormy eyes that belonged to Aoki. She didn't allow him time to react. "What took you so long?" She was going to call him after the lift from the 4th floor. "I remembered telling specifically to have it done long before the meeting starts."

All he heard was 'you're late' from the strings of words. Females and their roundabout ways with words were something he couldn't get used to. "I'm so sorry, Aoki-san. It's just that-"

"You're more than late and I don't care for your excuses. If I told you to do something, I expect it to be done correctly and timely."

"But I-"

"She has a valid reason." The deep voice got Aoki's eyes widened and removed from Fuji.

"Shachou." Her voice suddenly stiffened at Tezuka's presence. Niou was slightly behind Tezuka observing the scene in silence.

Tezuk opened his mouth again. "You should take the time to listen what your subordinate has to say before making false assumptions."

"H-hai, Tezuka-shachou. I'll keep that in mind."

Tezuka gave a last glance to Fuji's head before taking his leave from the scene. Niou lingered a bit but decided to follow Tezuka soon after since Aoki didn't make a move to leave.

Taking in a sharp breath, Aoki turned back to Fuji's downcast eyes and held out her hand.

Wordlessly, Fuji handed the stack of paper over along with the USB.

"We'll continue this after this meeting is over, got it?" Her glare made him shrunk back. He nodded and waited for his superior to leave. He too soon took his leave after hers.

He thought he could get back to writing reports when he got back to the fourth, but a female co-worker came up to him as he reached the door to the office.

"Ryuzaki-san requested your immediate presence."

Fuji smiled and thanked her before turning around to the elevator that he spent much time riding today. The secretary's desk was empty when he arrived. He looked around, there was no one else besides Kaido's secretary sitting at his own desk, too busy and focused to not noticed him.

Before he made a step further, voices drifted out from Tezuka's office, with one belonging to Ryuzaki. He walked to the office and knocked despite it being kept slightly opened.

Instead of a 'come in,' Ryuzaki threw the door wider with her usual pleasant smile. That meant that he wasn't in trouble of the sort. He was already having a bad day, so this was a relief.

"Good Morning Fuji-chan!" She chirped.

"Good Morning, Ryuzaki-chan. You called for me?"

She nodded. "Someone here wants to see you." Stepping aside, she tugged him into the room.

When his eyes landed on the only other occupant, he turned confused. _Tezuka Ryoma?_

"I'll be at my desk if you both need anything."

Ryoma nodded and sent her off quietly while he stood up. "Come." The smile that came with the word somewhat resembled a smirk, sending Fuji into awareness of what that was supposed to mean.

He had to tread carefully. "You want to see me?" He hoped it wouldn't be about tennis.

But it was futile to hope if he knew more about Ryoma. Then, it dawned on him that Ryoma had planned this while the management went on. It was perfect timing while all the board members and high-seated employees were in stuck in meeting.

"We didn't get to finish our conversation that day!" Ryoma smiled on, expecting Fuji to remember what it was about.

He did remember, so clearly, but the problem was that he didn't want to remember. "I already to you that I wouldn't be able to. It gets very busy here at work and after work, and I have to travel an hour back home. I really don't have the time. I'm sorry."

The smile on Ryoma's face dropped, but his spirit wasn't deterred. "What if we make a deal? Tennis was aniki's life when he was still in school, he should understand how crucial this is for me as well. If he let me have you 2 days a week for 3 hours, that'd be perfect!"

There Ryoma went again with his self-made decision habit, Fuji thought and sighed. He really didn't want to do it. In fact, he probably didn't know half of Ryoma's knowledge about tennis. He only played for fun. "I really really can't, Tezuka-kun. I-"

"Call me Ryoma, That sounds like you're referring to my brother and sister."

"Ummm...welll...okay...but I still can't. There are more qualified professionals out there who can do so much more for you than I will ever be able to."

This time, Ryoma frowned. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"Eh?" Fuji was taken aback by the outburst.

Ryoma let out a long sigh. "I like your style! I've gone through so many coaches already, and none of their styles excite me like yours do!"

Fuji shook his head. He was determined not to give in. "I don't have a style."

"Yes you do!"

"Really, I don't. I only play tennis for fun because my brother needed a practice partner."

"Oh that's perfect! You can be mine as well."

Ah, Fuji thought, he shouldn't have said that. "No no no, that's not what I meant." His hands automatically went up in defense.

"Yes it was!" Ryoma grinned. "We can play together like that first time we met. It was fun."

"We only rallied." Fuji said in a deadpanned tone. Ryoma's energy was too much to handle. This was really a bad day.

"Yeah, but not without that special move you used! We should definitely play again!"

"I-" Fuji let out an audible sigh.

Ryoma knew Fuji had nothing else to say. The other was probably tired too. On his way here, he thought about which tactic he should use to persuade Fuji. Being forceful physically wasn't the way, although he used it to his advantage most of the time. So, he tried to be pushy again, but in a naive kind of way, not the violent way. Didn't females like gentle aggressiveness?

Then, Fuji abruptly stood up, catching him by surprise.

"Please excuse me, I have to get back to work. There's a lot of things I need to get done before lunch." Fuji spoke as fast as he could and left in haste afterward, not leaving Ryoma any opportunity to stop him.

Ryoma watched Fuji flee with a scowl on his face, now more determined to make Fuji conform.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Fuji worked fast to make up for the half hour he spent in vain. Aoki had apparently dumped someone else's work on his table with a short note saying that the lady whose work belonged to had to leave because she became ill.

A couple of minutes before noon, Aoki returned with someone from the floor above. He was ignored as they sat at the sofa to discuss something that Fuji had no intention of eavesdropping.

After the man from the fifth left, Aoki came back to her desk and called Fuji over.

"What did you say to Tezuka-shachou about me?"

Fuji gave her a confused look in response.

"He was giving me a hard time throughout my presentation and furthermore told me to treat my subordinates better. Obviously, you told on me didn't you?" Her eyes were accusatory.

Behind his closed eye lids, his eyes darted around trying to remember if he had said anything although he was sure he didn't. "I-I don't know. I didn't say anything about you or even talked to Tezuka-shachou today. I think there is a misunderstanding."

Aoki took in an audible sigh that showed her disbelief. "Don't pretend to be innocent. You must've have done something for him not to like me." She said accusatorily with eyes narrowed. Fuji had no idea at how much she hated him up to now.

Inside his head, Fuji wondered how he was pulled into this dilemma. "So...you like Tezuka-shachou?"

Aoki's eyes widened a fraction before froze in place to direct a glare at the audacity of Fuji to ask such question. "What?!"

Fuji shrunk back. He wasn't fully aware when he asked that question. "I didn't mean to..."

Aoki glowered at Fuji silently. "Stop wasting your time standing around and get back to work. Everything on your desk must be completed before the day is over. Understood?"

Fuji nodded obediently and went back to his desk. Aoki was really too much. _Saying that I was wasting my time, does she mean to say that she was a waste of time?_

He shook his head to rid the thought. At least, one thing he was thankful towards Aoki was this job. He wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"What's gotten you in deep thought?"

Atobe raised an eyebrow at Sanada. He had called Sanada out for lunch, just because Sanada was nearby and he didn't want to stay in the vicinity of his company.

Sanada asked this because Atobe's food was left untouched 5 minutes after it was placed in front of the King. He was going to ignore the man but decided to start a conversation since it was looking awkward to other people with two men sitting at the same table but not conversing.

"I thought it was love," Atobe paused and became lost in thoughts again, making Sanada think that the other was really talking to himself. "But the more I thought about it, it's not love. Though I can't stop thinking about her. She's a very interesting person and I'm intrigued."

Sanada opened his mouth, readying to throw out a 'what the hell are you talking about?' when Atobe picked up the siloloquy.

"Touching her like that, does he also like her? What else would it be then? He wouldn't even go that near females if he didn't have to. Strange, I wasn't even jealous."

Sanada waited for a moment to see if Atobe was going to continue rambling, but didn't. "Atobe."

Atobe looked at Sanada. "What?"

"Were you talking to yourself?"

Atobe blinked uncharacteristically, so unlike himself to look innocent and clueless. A moment of thought, he realized that he was indeed talking to himself. Clearing his throat, he sat upright, and denied. "Ore-sama doesn't talk to himself."

Sanada coughed and resumed eating, seeing at the corner of his eyes that Atobe finally start on the first bite. "So...you like someone Atobe?"

Atobe looked from his plate to Sanada. He let out an audible frustrated sigh as he set the fork down on the plate noisily. "You know what's absurd?"

Sanada raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"I like her...she's an interesting character...and very easy on the eye, but why didn't I feel jealous when he touched her and made her blush?"

Brows knitted together, Sanada also put down his utensils and held Atobe's eyes. "Simple...you are not interested in her romantically."

Atobe stared at him as if he had discovered a cure to human madness. "That's it!"

Sanada sighed and shook his head. "How stupid." He mumbled to himself and went back to eating, hoping to end lunch soon so he could get back to being with the person he actually wanted to be with.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Going back to school, Ryoma rounded his friends for a friendly game of tennis at the University tennis court, since he had a few hours left before the next class began, instead of the one in a nearby ball park. At this time, there should be more than enough available courts for all of them to play singles.

"The tournament is in a month, but we haven't even started the training program. What is the dratted coach thinking?" Kintaro commented in a bored tone, the exact opposite of what his words were trying to entail: concern.

"Obviously." Ryoma scoffed. "He's pushing for self growth and performance."

"Risky, I say." Hirakoba said. The tennis racquet was hung over his shoulder in a haughty fashion. "If we suck, we lose."

"Yeah? That's like saying 'What the hell is tennis?'" Hikaru smiled twisted into a cocky grin. "Don't worry. We're going to secure this win even without a coach."

Hikaru, who was walking along side Hirakoba, came to an abrupt as the two in front of him stopped walking suddenly. "Why-"

Hirakoba's smile turned upside down. A nudge from Hikaru in a certain direction that had the two younger tennis players' eyes focused in.

The courts reserved for tennis players throughout the day except during lunch time, which extended from noon to 3. Although non-members of the club were allowed on the courts, it was a rare sight for Ryoma to keep on seeing a certain someone he hated on the exact court that he always played at. Even when they unceremoniously met last time, Yuuta had mysteriously chosen his court.

The other three didn't say anything as they waited for Ryoma to make a move. A second later, Ryoma's feet resume pacing on the concrete floor.

Yuuta's rallied partner, who was facing the group of 4, stopped swinging in mid-air and indicated to Yuuta with a slight tilt of the head in the direction of the gate.

Yuuta turned and immediately his facial expression hardened with unpleasantlness.

Ryoma strolled in casually, holding his racquet on his shoulder, with a degrading smirk shooting at Yuuta and his friend. "What a coincidence..." His tone was superior and degrading.

Yuuta sighed inwardly, feeling the presence of his friend coming up to him. _Don't tell me this is his court...again._

Instead of chasing Yuuta away like last time, he had another plan. "Let's play a game." _Let's see if you'll be playing tennis anymore after this. _

Yuuta eyed Ryoma warily. He knew that Ryoma was singles 2 in the tennis club ranking, so the other must be more than worthy of an opponent for him. Ryoma's friends merely raised an eyebrow before settling themselves in the court over, discreetly giving the other court their attention as they engaged in a friendly match.

Ryoma had already took his position, readying to serve. The ball was thrown up, his feet sprung into the air as his racquet came into contact with the ball.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Did someone come in here while I was gone?"

Ryuzaki had long known her boss was perceptive to details. She eyes went around the room before landing on the table. It was displaced not 1 but 5 inches away from its position. "Ah. Your brother came by earlier."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow as he settled behind the desk, shrugging off the suit jacket in the process. "What did he want?"

Ryuzaki began to panic. She was a horrible liar, and Ryoma had asked her to lie about his purpose of being there to see Fuji. "He...He."

She berated herself for not thinking up an excuse beforehand, but she did put hope on Tezuka not finding out...fat chance.

"He?" Tezuka urged her to continue. It was in this was that he was brief with his words that became intimidating to others.

"He came to-"

"Only the truth." Tezuka warned, cutting her off before she could even do so.

In a quick breath, she blurted out what he wanted to hear, the truth. "He came to see Fuji-chan."

For a second, Tezuka's eyes widened in confusion. He shot a glare at the poor girl. "What for?" _Why do many people seek her?_

"I-I don't know. He just told me that he wanted to speak to Fuji-chan. I didn't ask further."

After a moment, Tezuka nodded and excused her.

Tezuka leaned back on the chair and his hands clasped together in front of him in a contemplative gesture. _Is he interested in her romantically?_

His thoughts drifted over to think about his brother. Ryoma liked and loved tennis. There was nothing else in the world that stood parallel with tennis for the younger, and Tezuka understood this very well as he used to be like Ryoma back in the school day. _It's a rare chance that he sees her that way...right? _It was a possibility, but Tezuka highly doubted so.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The game ended with Ryoma's leading game, wining the match, but the last set caught him in a trance that got his grip loosened up with trembles. He won, yet he felt no satisfaction.

His gaze pinned Yuuta in place as he walked closer to the latter. "Where did you learn that move?"

Yuuta smirked inwardly. He was on a losing streak with Ryoma's smashes until the wind picked up. He decided to use one of the counters that his brother taught him, and it worked. He didn't think it would work because he hadn't perfected them yet. The results were always inconsistent. "What's it to you?"

Ryoma glowered.

Yuuta was smug at the absence of the usual smirk that adorn Ryoma's face. He wasn't going to give in to a rich brat like Ryoma. Despite losing, there was a sense of victory over Ryoma's bafflement.

Ryoma watched Yuuta walking away. Although he wanted to know how and where Yuuta learned that move that he saw Fuji executing. _Was that a legit move? But then, why haven't I heard of it?_

Perhaps, he thought, it was one of the moves street tennis players made up. It might be, but the move was too refined...and well-designed. His frowned deepened, thinking how wrong the move looked on Yuuta, someone with no grace and elegance. The exact opposite of someone he knew.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As Fuji predicted, he wouldn't able to finish by the time Aoki got off work.

"Tomorrow, you'll have new assignments, so finish everything today."

It was her last words to him before departing around 6. The moment she left, he stood up to stretch his cramping legs and relieve tiring butts. He didn't dare do so in Aoki's presence.

Since his sister was expecting him to get off soon, he gave her a call to tell her that he had to stay overtime again.

As the hour passed, one by one left, leaving him alone on the floor. He was hungry, and there was nothing to eat. The cafeteria was closed, so he decided to go for a run across the street to get something fulfilling.

Unknowingly, he ran into Ryuzaki at a popular bistro.

"Are you heading home?" The secretary asked him.

He shook his head. "I probably have 1 more hour worth of stuff to do."

She gave him a sympathetic smile and offered to help. "I can stay for half an hour to help. I'm just buying Tezuka-san a light snack and tea."

"Oh no!" Fuji held his hands up. "You should go home. I'll be fine."

At the same time his name was called to pick up his order, Ryuzaki's phone rang. When he came back, she had a plea expression on her face. "Can I ask you a favor? I know you're busy, but I have to hurry home. Something urgent just came up."

Fuji nodded with a kind smile. "What is it?"

"Can you bring these back to Tezuka-san?"

Fuji hid his shock and pounding heart from being visible. He knew he was going to stutter, so he just nodded.

"Thank you so much Fuji-chan!"

His trek up the elevator was nerve-wracking. His heart just couldn't stop beating out of whack and his face was so hot and red that he thought he would faint inside the elevator. When it stopped at the top floor, he stepped out with hesitation in every step he took.

Watching the president from afar was blissful, but being near him made him jittery. Adding the fact that he was supposed to be a girl made him actually felt like one. It wasn't good for his mentality at all.

So took a deep breath in front of the office door, held it in as he knocked.

"Come in."

Fuji released his breath and entered at the command. Tezuka wasn't looking at him at all. In fact, the president was concentrated on a document on the table, scribbling with a pen at a quick speed.

Silently pondering, he wished he had his camera with him to capture the perfect picture of a business man working passionately. He thought, if he were to get married, Tezuka would be the perfect and ideal husband in sickness and in health. He wouldn't need to worry a thing and let the other take care of him and their family.

A wistful smile stretched across his face. _If only I was born a girl._

Fuji quietly walked across the carpeted floor. A soft clicking of his heels accompanied him in the quiet environ.

"Just leave it there."

Tezuka still didn't look up as he placed the cup of tea and a paper bag of pastry on an empty spot on the table.

"Thank you." Tezuka stopped writing and looked up to dismiss his secretary only to widened his eyes at the sight of a person he had been thinking about least expected to see at the moment. His eyes drifted to the door to see if Ryuzaki was outside, but there was no light coming in that indicated the lamp at the desk was on. He looked at Fuji again after confirming that it was close to 8pm. "Why haven't you gone home yet?"

Fuji meekly smile and looked at his hand, not feeling courageous to hold Tezuka's intense gaze. Why did everything Tezuka do seem so intimidating? "There-There are still many things I need to finish today..."

Tezuka gaze became unfocused as his mind recoiled to his inner thought. _Is this because of Aoki?_ "Was this a consequence of what happened this morning?"

Fuji wanted to say yes, but he didn't. "Um no...I...this is out of line, but could you look at Aoki-san with kinder eyes? She was quite sad that you were upset with her because of me..." He knew fairly well that it was an excuse to get Aoki to be more lenient on him. Even though he had a huge crush on Tezuka, he also needed this job.

"You are in no position to ask that of me."

Fuji's heart feel at the harsh words. What he didn't know that Tezuka was upset that Fuji was talking good things for Aoki, who he now realized was a sly character.

"I'm sorry. I think...I-I should go now." If Fuji had known Tezuka was going to get angry with him, he wouldn't have said that. The prospect of Tezuka not liking him was really saddening.

Before he reached the door, Tezuka's voice sounded. "What are you working on?"

Fuji turned around. "Evaluating policies to make sure that they agree with industry regulations and the new government mandate."

"To do that, you'd need to know our corporation's policies and the new law well."

Fuji nodded.

"I know both quite well, so bring whatever you have here, and I'll help you with it."

A surprise expression crossed Fuji's face as he blurted out. "Oh no. I can't ask you to do that. This is the reason why I'm employed."

Tezuka's face remained unchanged. "You didn't ask me to. It's a directive."

Before a word of protest escaped Fuji's mouth, Tezuka spoke. "Be quick." He left no room for argument as he went back to finishing up whatever he was in the middle of doing.

Fuji sighed, feeling burdened, and left. The tread back into the office several minutes later.

"Have a seat."

Fuji put the laptop on the table and sat down on the chair stationed on the opposite side of the desk. "Tell me what you have down so far."

As Fuji read the summary, Tezuka multitasked on the last task before shutting down his computer.

"That's good." He went on to elaborate about the policies and compared them to the government mandate.

All Fuji really did was paraphrasing everything Tezuka said into a document. He couldn't believe it, but they finished before 8:30pm. Fortunately, the bus was still running at that time. He didn't need to bother his sister or brother-in-law to pick him up.

As they rode down the elevator , Tezuka offered Fuji a ride home.

"That's alright. I've already kept you behind enough."

The elevator stopped and opened on the fourth floor.

"It's not a bother if that's what you're thinking. I'll be waiting at the front." Tezuka pushed the button for the doors to close.

Fuji gaped at him. Realizing that the door was closing, he tapped the door. "Wait! Wait! Tezuka-shachou!"

The door slid shut and he winced. "Another minute with him is going to turn me into a pile of goo."

True to Tezuka's word, a black Lexus was waiting at the entrance of the company building. He remembered it was the one that almost sent him to heaven. The metal was cool to the touch as he reached for the door handle. The first thought that came to his mind was how manly the car smelled. The cologne wasn't overwhelming, but very faint and fresh.

"Which way?"

Fuji narrated the directions to give Tezuka a general idea of where his sister's house was. Soon, they arrived. After rushing his thanks toTezuka for the ride, he reached for the door handle, hoping to get away as fast as possible, but was stopped by a hand on his right wrist. The sensation was like that of an electrical shock. He wanted to pull away but couldn't from the firm grip.

"Wh-what i-is it?" Fuji's face was beet red and everything felt suffocating.

"Look at me." Tezuka commanded. One of the things he was good at was giving commands. If he was to confess, that would be the only way to do it. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to say anything at all.

Fuji turned slowly with reluctance, keeping his eyes away and lowered.

Tezuka's grip loosened and came up to lift Fuji's chin upward so that Fuji would have to look into his eyes.

"Let's date."

Fuji's entire body froze. After a minute of waiting with no response from Fuji, Tezuka lightly tapped on Fuji's jaw line. "Fuji?"

It seemed like Fuji really lost his soul. A sigh escaped Tezuka's lips before he leaned closer to Fuji's face and after feeling the surge of confidence rising, he connected their lips.

It was disappointing because Fuji pulled back immediately looking like he was violated, which was actually the case.

"What-...What were you doing?!" He blurted out. The heat was too much. He felt like fainting from happiness. Was this a dream?

Tezuka chuckled, sending Fuji into a fit of disbelief.

"What is so amusing?!" The pout on Fuji's lips was really cute.

_That_. Tezuka thought. Fuji was no longer stuttering or shy like he was moments before the kiss. Without a warning, he leaned over and pinned Fuji to the seat. His mouth inches away from Fuji's "I said let's date. And I'm not taking no for an answer."

Each breath with each word ghosted over Fuji's lips like a veil, making him tingle all over. His heart pounded loudly against his ribcage.

"But-" He opened his mouth to protest, but Tezuka's lips quickly implanted themselves on his own the second time that night, effectively shutting him up.


End file.
